New Delhi: The BJP’s 2024 manifesto, released Sunday, focuses on welfarism and the aspirations of the middle class in a departure from its 2019 manifesto, which revolved around nationalism and the party’s core ideological commitments.
A zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, surgical strike, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) formed the crux of the 2019 manifesto, which projected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the strongest and most able leader to take India into the 21st century while protecting the country’s interests and borders.
On the other hand, the BJP has framed its 2024 manifesto around the ‘Modi ki guarantee’ tagline, promising to empower the ‘garib (poor), youth, annadata (farmers) and nari (women)’ and laying the road map for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by creating jobs, boosting start-ups, and making India the global hub of manufacturing.
These changes in the manifesto, called Sankalp Patra, come as the party looks to gain the trust of the country’s aspirational population, which now wants more from Modi than nationalism.
The 2019 Sankalp Patra started with “nation first”, with the BJP mentioning surgical and air strikes carried out under its zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, which, it claimed, has altered the national security paradigm under Modi’s leadership. The PM’s letter attached to it said that the “nation is no longer helpless against the barbaric forces of terror, they are paid back in their own coin with compound interest“.
In a turnaround, the 2024 manifesto, started with “Modi ki guarantee for garib pariwar jan (the poor)”, under which the BJP made promises to extend free ration under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, free electricity under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, continue the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Har Ghar Jal scheme, and protect ‘garib ki thali’ by establishing price stabilisation funds for vegetables and pulses.
Surgical and air strikes are mentioned much later — on Page 41 under the ‘Surakshit Bharat’ tagline, where the party reiterated India’s commitment to defend its citizens from all threats of terrorism.
Prime Minister Modi, while launching the manifesto, said Sunday, “Our focus is on dignity of life, quality of life and jobs through investment.”
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What all has changed
In 2019, several polarising issues, from the rollout of the NRC and the CAA to the removal of Article 370 and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) also appeared in the first paragraph of commitments.
Five years later, most of the BJP’s ideological commitments stand fulfilled, whether it’s the abrogation of Article 370, the ban on triple talaq, or the implementation of the CAA, and Uttarakhand has taken steps to implement the UCC.
Though the Uniform Civil Code and One Nation, One Election promises have also featured in the manifesto this time, the bulk of the promises deal with the bread and butter issue.
One of the major announcements in the current manifesto is the phasing out of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the Northeast.
When it comes to Muslims in India, the manifesto only mentioned Muslim women and their empowerment through the triple talaq ban.
The middle class was largely ignored in the 2019 manifesto, with only two lines on giving tax benefits and making every effort to fulfil education and employment needs along with suitable urban infrastructure.
However, rising inflation and fewer employment opportunities have pushed the party to make a more detailed vision for the middle class this time. In the 2024 manifesto, the BJP has promised to provide high-value jobs through the startup ecosystem in tier 2 and 3 cities, Vande Bharat and bullet trains, new satellite townships, and electric vehicles.
For the poor, the most significant announcement is the extension of the free ration scheme till 2029. It is one of the party’s biggest schemes that has given an impetus to its electoral prospects, from Bihar to Bengal. The Mudra scheme limit has been raised from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh to promote entrepreneurship among the poor.
The BJP, however, has skipped the promise to double farmers’ income by 2022, which appeared in the previous manifesto. Instead, the party has promised measures to empower farmers through an increase in minimum support prices, strengthening of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, incentives for crop diversification, launching a ‘krishi’ infrastructure mission for promoting integrated agri-infrastructure projects, launching agriculture satellites for forecasting weather, etc.
Many farmers expected that the PM would raise the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi assistance from Rs 6000 to Rs 12,000, but that did not happen.
The promise of ‘pucca‘ houses for all has also gone missing this time. However, the manifesto mentioned four crore beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and promised to expand the scheme to ensure the poor have access to quality housing.
In 2019, the manifesto promised to make India the third-largest economy by 2030, but the party didn’t mention any such timeline this time.
The 2014 manifesto, instead, said, “Within a decade, we have brought Bharat from 11th to 5th largest economic power. This was possible through (the) right policy, focused execution and meticulous planning, we guarantee that Bharat will be 3rd largest economic power.”
The ideological commitments, which have made it to the manifesto this time, include establishing Ayodhya and Ramayan festivals across the globe, Yuge Yugeen Bharat national museums to showcase India’s civilisational course, Thiruvalluvar cultural centres that take into account BJP’s expansion plans in Tamil Nadu and global-standard Ayurveda and yoga certification mechanism.
A senior BJP leader told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity, “Already most of our ideological commitments have been fulfilled. The 2019 election was on nationalism and surgical strikes, but the only agenda left now is the UCC and a mechanism to check the population. The government’s entire focus now is on ‘Viksit Bharat‘ and tapping into the aspirational class of society. Hence, we made promises of making India a manufacturing hub, green energy hub and semiconductor hub and to address employment challenges.”
The big idea behind the 2024 manifesto is to balance the two Indias — one that needs welfarism, and the second that dreams big.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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