Elections 2019: Battle Of The Manifestos, National Security Versus Jobs

(Source: BloombergQuint)

The relevance of election manifestos has dimmed over the last few elections, but this time around both national parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress have come out with relatively detailed statements on what governance they promise voters. While both parties have large, pro-poor schemes in their manifestos; the pitch, tone and tenor differ vastly.

Leader Versus Party

While the BJP manifesto is all about Narendra Modi as the cover displays, the Congress manifesto is about the party and the Congress' past governance record.

Takeaway: While Narendra Modi is the BJP's biggest selling point, the Congress seems hesitant to position Rahul Gandhi in a head-to-head clash with Modi.

(Image: Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party)

Pitch To The Voter

The BJP manifesto's first key set of poll promises begin with national security. The first line talks about surgical strikes and air strikes and goes on to detail the party's commitment to security. While the issue does feature in the Congress manifesto too, the prime focus for the Congress is jobs. The first set of promises in the Congress document is about filling vacant government jobs within set timelines.

Takeaway: Both parties seem to have gone with the strategy of presenting what they see as their opponent's biggest weakness as their foremost poll pitch.

Also Read: BJP Manifesto – Reading Between The Lines

NYAY Versus PM Kisan

It was widely expected that the BJP would attempt a counter to the Congress' NYAY scheme that promises Rs 72,000 per year to five crore families. The BJP's response has been to extend the PM Kisan scheme—that gives marginal farmers Rs 6,000 per year—to all farmers. Currently the scheme is restricted for farmers with landholdings of less than two hectares.

Takeaway: BJP does not feel the need to counter NYAY. The party is possibly betting on Congress being unable to spread the message of the scheme far and wide. There is also confidence that the first tranche of PM Kisan payments, that have reached farmers, would be more tangible to voters than a distant promise.

Startups

One of the big promises to new businesses in the Congress manifesto, was to free new companies from all applicable laws and regulations except minimum wage and tax laws. There is also a promise to abolish the Angel Tax. BJP, meanwhile, promises collateral free credit of Rs 50 lakh and a startup seed fund of Rs 20,000 crore.

Takeaway: The BJP's promises to fledgling businesses are, in most part, a continuation of existing government schemes. The focus is more on improving India's Ease of Doing Business rankings.

Also Read: Winners And Losers Of Election Campaign Manifestos

Big Spends

Both the BJP and the Congress don't hesitate to promise big outlays. Neither has answers as to where the money would come from. While the Congress' NYAY scheme would cost below 1 percent of GDP in year one and then below 2 percent from the second year, there is also a promise to spend up to 9 percent of GDP on health and education by 2024.

The BJP manifesto has its set of big numbers as well, Rs 100 lakh crore on infrastructure and Rs 25 lakh crore on agriculture.

Takeaway: Making promises costs nothing. Both have not hesitated to promise big outlays if voted to power. Between the two, the Congress has gone into more detail on some of the schemes promised in the manifesto, while the BJP has stuck to broader explanations.

Ideological Stance

The BJP manifesto features statements that appeal to the party's core voters and reiterates long-standing positions. Be it the abrogation of Article 370 and repealing Article 35A of the Constitution, resettling Kashmiri pandits or building the Ram Mandir. These aren't new promises either but this time there is also a mention of the Sabarimala dispute, the National Registry for Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

The Congress manifesto talks about reviewing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a re-look at army deployment in the Kashmir valley, new laws for hate crimes and laws against discrimination and proposes removing the sedition law.

Takeaway: While there are no surprises in BJP's manifesto as far as its ideological position goes, Congress has finally stuck its neck out and cleared its stand on several issues after having sent out conflicting messages over the last five years.

Tamanna Inamdar is Senior Editor at BloombergQuint.