BJP wins battle of ideas

A Surya Prakash

This is a tale of two manifestos — one that largely looks behind and another
that looks ahead. Having ensured a fairly stable Government at the Centre
for five years after putting together the United Progressive Alliance in 2004
and having achieved success in some areas of governance, the Congress
appears to be in a mood to pat itself on the back. Although the party’s
manifesto has ideas for the future, it appears largely focussed on the
achievements of the Union Government and makes every effort to draw as
much electoral mileage as it can for what it considers to be good work done.
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which warmed the
Opposition benches in Parliament over the last five years, is just rearing to go
and is full of ideas. It has, therefore, come up with a manifesto that is forward-
looking and is loaded with social content.

Among these parties, the BJP has two distinct advantages. The first
advantage is that which accrues to the party in Opposition. It has no
immediate baggage in terms of non-performance and also has the
advantage of legitimately blaming the other for all that has gone wrong in
the preceding five years. The second advantage is something which comes
accidentally to a party that is less organised and prepared — namely the
advantage of releasing its manifesto after the other. Reading the two
documents, it can be inferred that while a lot of original thinking is evident in
the BJP’s manifesto, it cannot be denied that it has exploited both the
advantages that came its way in this battle of the manifestos.

Since manifestos are generally meant to outline the political, social and
economic philosophies of political parties and to offer prescriptions to correct
existing imbalances, both parties have used the opportunity to address issues
concerning diverse sections of society. The difference lies in the fact that the
Congress speaks more of what it has done whereas the BJP talks of what it will
do. Also, the latter appears to have cast its net wider and offered baits which
are far more tempting for different categories of voters. The other important
distinction is that while the BJP takes pride in the successes achieved by its
Governments in several States and offers these schemes at the national level,
the Congress leadership tries to corner the glory for good governance,
wherever visible, thus denying credit to those who are actually responsible for
it — the Chief Ministers.

If one were to put aside political issues that pit the two parties against one
another (the pseudo-secular versus the secular, minorityism versus
nationalism), and focus only on issues of governance, the BJP appears to
have come up with an electoral gift hamper that is far more alluring for all
sections of society. Based on its core political commitments and the successes
of its Governments in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and
Rajasthan, the party has a lot to offer in regard to anti-poverty schemes,
social sector spending, national security, the armed forces, the problems of
the middle class, working women and senior citizens. Rice or wheat at Rs 2 a
kg to families below the poverty line, bicycles to girls from poor families to
attend school, a scheme to financially empower women from BPL families,
the ‘Ladli Lakshmi’ scheme to tackle the scourge of gender discrimination,
and the promise to make ‘108’ medical emergency service universally
accessible throughout India are all ideas that have sprung from the States.
These are ideas which are bound to be hugely popular.

Similarly, every citizen who is conscious of the sacrifices being made by the
armed forces and the paramilitary forces in this era of terrorism is certain to
appreciate the income tax exemption that the BJP has offered to these men
and women in uniform. Further, all those who are aware of the angst in the
forces over non-implementation of the principle of one rank-one pension and
the pittance that is doled out to families of brave soldiers who lay down their
lives in the line of duty are certain to welcome the assurances made by this
party on these issues.

The Congress seeks to counter the BJP’s basket of goodies with its basket of
achievements. Only those who are devoid of a sense of objectivity will deny
the Congress, which is at the pivot of the ruling United Progressive Alliance,
credit for launching the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The
party has sought to gain political mileage, and rightly so, for extension of this
programme to all districts in the country.

However, it must be borne in mind that although the NREG Scheme is an UPA
idea, its success depends on the commitment of the ruling party in each
State to tackle unemployment. Therefore, while the Congress is right in tom-
toming the scheme and milking it for votes, it should not grudge Mr Narendra
Modi, Mr Raman Singh or Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan knocking off some of the
cream.

The Congress also deserves credit, as the main player in the UPA, for bringing
the Right to Information Act, 2005, which has helped millions of citizens cut
through the opacity in Government created by the bureaucracy. It has
brought in transparency and enabled citizens to demand accountability at
all levels of Government. The other achievements of the UPA are the National
Rural Health Mission and the impact of schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana
on reduction of Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate in well-
governed States.

However, one wishes the Congress, being India’s oldest party, showed a little
more grace while talking about great ideas implemented by other political
parties. For example, it was the late MG Ramachandran who first introduced
the mid-day meal scheme for school children in Tamil Nadu. This idea was
picked up by other States and almost a score of years ago by the Union
Government, and provision was made for Central-funding of the scheme. The
scheme now covers 150 million children across India and is one of the factors
responsible for improved nutrition and school attendance among children in
the villages. This programme has been given impetus by previous
Governments. It is, therefore, sad to see the Congress manifesto claim credit
for this programme and to put it under the head, ‘Achievements of the
Congress-led UPA Government.’

Finally, it must be said that whatever be the outcome of the battle of the
ballot, the BJP has certainly got the better of the Congress in the battle of the
manifestos.