BJP manifesto to have promises for poor, farmers

BJP's manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is likely to incorporate major promises on welfare of poor and farmers and focus on women and jobs for youth.

The 27-member election manifesto committee, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, met on Monday to discuss the reportedly crowd sourced inputs received from across the country.

The road map for the government's 'Viksit Bharat' agenda took centre stage at the first meeting of the BJP's election manifesto committee.


Party insiders hinted that the manifesto could be themed around 'Modi ki guarantee' and 'Viksit Bharat.' The BJP has received over 3.75 lakh suggestions through its missed call service and nearly 1.70 lakh on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's app, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said.

Majority of the suggestions received through crowdsourcing related to welfare measures.

Addressing the press conference in New Delhi on Monday, after the meeting of the committee, Goyal said the road map for Viksit Bharat by 2047 was discussed in the meeting. "People's enthusiastic participation for our manifesto shows their trust in the prime minister and their expectations from him," he said.

Inputs were collected through a 35-day drive. 916 video vans were sent to over 300 constituencies. Suggestions were also received from trade and industry associations, he said.

The BJP had on March 30 announced the 27-member committee, which also included a Muslim, Sikh and Christian leader each.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is its convener and several other Union ministers, the chief ministers of states such as Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, and seasoned hands like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje are members.

This is probably the first time in many decades that core ideological promises may not find mention in its election manifesto. It has added to the general curiosity about what will be the highlights of the ruling party's poll pledges this time.

The next meeting of the manifesto committee is likely to be held on April 4.

The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held between April 19 and June 1.