Poll promises

Congress could have offered a more progressive agenda

Election manifestos of political parties tend to offer a vision of governance that is often impractical. The Congress’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections fits this template. The manifesto suggests that the time for a radical change in the style of governance has come and that the elections present an opportunity for such change. But it is hard to spot the signs of radical thinking in this document. Rather than outlining a programme based on a coherent ideology, its proposals are either reactive, reversing initiatives by the ruling National Democratic Alliance, or problematic in terms of implementation. Termed “Nyay