The centrepiece of the Congress programme for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was caste and money. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chosen to emphasise on “Modi Ki Guarantee” instead of offering any financial giveaways.
The BJP’s main selling point for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his legitimacy, as seen by the book’s frequent mention of “Modi Ki Guarantee” on every page, including the cover. The whole record of “10 years of Good Governance and Vikas” found in the BJP platform effectively reaffirms that the party has delivered on its two main commitments from five years prior: the building of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP has used this as justification to declare that it will complete the two unfinished agenda items it had stated in 2019: the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and One Nation, One Election come 2029. This BJP manifesto makes no mention of the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC), even after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) went into force. The BJP has stated in 2019 that the NRC would be implemented gradually. But this issue has not received much attention.
In addition to a caste census, the Congress has promised poor families in the nation Rs 1 lakh annually. However, the BJP subtly conveyed the message that its welfare programmes had reached all classes and religions by selecting a number of common recipients to receive advance copies of the Prime Minister’s manifesto on stage. The government’s “Lakhpati Didi Yojana” would now benefit three crore people instead of only one crore, according to the prime minister.
The prime minister kept the emphasis on women when she announced that households would receive inexpensive piped gas, much like the LPG cylinders that were subsidised over the previous ten years through the Ujjwala programme. Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which promises free medical insurance up to Rs 5 lakh for all residents over 70, is another significant senior citizen outreach initiative by the BJP that has drawn attention. In India, there are expected to be close to five crore senior folks.
Whereas the BJP has concentrated on investing in infrastructure to create jobs and position India as a global industrial hub, the Congress has concentrated on unemployment and made promises of thousands of jobs.
An important pitch for “promoting the entrepreneurial spirit” also been made by the BJP through its promise of doubling the loan amount under Mudra Yojana from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, after the scheme has seen a good uptake in the past five years among the youth.
The BJP has also avoided giving in to the opposition’s favourite freebie, which is offering free power to home customers in several states, including Delhi. Instead, it has adopted a more practical strategy by endorsing the PM Surya Ghar Bijli Yojana in order to achieve the same objective. According to Modi, installing solar rooftops under the programme will enable citizens to meet the nation’s targets for renewable energy sources in addition to enabling them to generate their own electricity and sell any excess to the government.
The BJP manifesto ultimately comes down to two things: “jo kaha who kiya” and “aage bhi jo kaha hai, woh karenge,” which are references to Narendra Modi’s popularity and legitimacy. The loudest cheer at BJP headquarters went out when the PM mentioned the party’s commitment to the UCC. This could be the biggest story post 2024 if Modi comes to power again, as one state has made a start.
