BJP Manifesto Decoded: How the document mirrors Narendra Modi is calm about his achievements, sincere about his commitments

It is hard to recall so much anticipation and excitement over election manifestos as seen this time around.

It is doubtful though if anyone casts her or his vote after reading the manifestos of political parties. Similarly, people may not even remember the promises made by the party they voted for by the end of its term. So, manifestos were beginning to look like a dated political tradition, with no real relevance.

To the credit of the Congress, it managed to revive interest in manifestos — at least among the media and chattering classes. The Congress manifesto was primarily designed as a calling card for Rahul Gandhi to present his credentials as the Prime Minister-in-waiting. It was aimed at the cheerleaders of the Congress president and those fence-sitters among the intelligentsia who still harboured doubts about Gandhi’s calibre.

So, the Congress made as much noise about the process of preparing the document as the manifesto content itself. It boasted of how some top economists of the world were engaged in developing its potentially game-changing NYAY (Nyuntam Ayay Yojana) scheme. The convener of its manifesto committee tweeted a group picture of the young research assistants who had worked on the paper. While critics found the Congress manifesto high on populism but short on details, the fan club called it a statement of compassion.

A fitting finale to our extensive manifesto consultation process was our photoshoot with Congress President @RahulGandhiHe thanked members of the Research team who helped the Manifesto come alive. pic.twitter.com/MJ2w3Lfw5R

— Rajeev Gowda (@rajeevgowda) April 2, 2019

The BJP smartly skirted the trap of one-upmanship.

While launching the party's manifesto, Arun Jaitley declared it was not written with an “Ivy League” mindset — taking a shot at the Congress’ much flaunted think-tank comprising a large number of high-profile NRI economists. Not surprisingly, one pro-Congress commentator was quick to call out the BJP’s perceived lack of “intellectual heft”.

Narendra Modi often recalls his humble origins, which, he says, gave him first-hand insight of grassroot issues. The not-so-oblique reference to the more privileged background of his principal adversary would not have been lost on any one who heard his short speech on the BJP manifesto.

The striking feature of Narendra Modi’s manifesto pitch and the leaders who spoke before him — Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley — was that none of them were defensive about the government’s achievements of the last five years. No government delivers on all its poll promises. But a closer look at the salient points of the BJP’s 2014 manifesto would give the BJP more than a passing score on the whole. Thus, they had reason to feel confident without being cocky.

This is consistent with the tenor of Narendra Modi’s 2019 campaign. On the election trail, Modi sounds much more measured about his track record and circumspect about the future. Statistics of progress in the last five years, be it on the economy, infrastructure, governance or social welfare schemes, are cited to drive home the message that a strong beginning has been made on multiple fronts and the country is well on track to realise the targets set by Modi for 2022 — the 75th anniversary of independence.

While the BJP manifesto avoids lofty promises and competitive populism on the economic front, it does raise the bar on nationalism and security.

It is in sync with the mood of the nation that has been ratcheted up since Balakot and is routinely tapped by Modi on every poll outing.

Jaitley did not mince his words in declaring, “This manifesto has been prepared with a strong nationalist vision.” He asserted the BJP’s resolve to prevent the “Balkanisation” of India (the ‘Tukde-Tukde’ spirit). So, along with the assertion of its resolve for “zero tolerance” on terrorism, the BJP manifesto has references to the Uniform Civil Code, Citizenship Amendment Bill and the Ram Mandir.

But now, the BJP manifestor has a stronger affirmation of the party’s position on Article 370 and 35A. They had surely factored in sharp reactions from the mainstream Kashmiri parties — and Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) swallowed the bait almost instantly. This will provide further ammunition for the BJP’s fight against separatism that appeals to its nationalist constituency.

That puts the Congress in a tricky spot. They are already under pressure for not objecting to Omar Abdullah’s remark about a ‘Prime Minister’ for J&K (which was actually a part of the terms of accession). This might force them to take a stand that can easily backfire — just as the ‘minority card’ that it is desperately trying to correct now with soft Hindutva.

Though the nationalist agenda might generate greater heat and distract from the Congress’ “Ab Hoga NYAY” theme, it is the economic, social, cultural and policy elements of the BJP's manifesto that deserve closer attention. Having learnt its lessons with ‘India Shining’ of 2004, the BJP has articulated a realistic roadmap — sans hype. It is marked with 75 concrete milestones for India @75 that displays remarkable clarity of vision and practical thinking.

The BJP manifesto addresses its concern for the poor — but it does not belabour poverty. It avoids getting into competitive populism over NYAY with the Congress. Instead of direct subsidy, income support and loan waivers, the BJP proposes to focus on outreach and inclusion as vehicles for dealing with rural poverty. Apart from taking forward its existing programmes of Swacch Bharat, Ujjwala, Ujala, MUDRA, insurance and JAM, it has proposed short-term agricultural loans and pensions to small and marginal farmers.

The BJP has probably accepted that a section of the upper class will not vote for them. However, it has reason to believe that the ‘non-elite’ middle class is still strongly on its side. Therefore, Modi does not miss a chance of taking a jibe at the Congress taking the middle class for granted, apparently expecting it to cough up for the costs of its fiscal profligacy through higher taxes.

Alongside, Arun Jaitley reminded all of how the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government did not increase taxes in the last five years but reduced it, controlled inflation, yet managed to “transfer resources to the poor and create a robust middle-class”. It indicates further rationalisation of tax slabs to allow greater purchasing power in the hands of the middle class.

The essence of the manifesto, he said, is to deplete poverty to single digits in the next five years — and then, eventually eliminate it. Increase GDP share from manufacturing and doubling exports would contribute to making India the third largest economy of the world by 2030. The Indian economy is projected to touch $5 trillion by 2025 and $10 trillion by 2032 — taking India from a perpetually ‘developing nation’ to a developed nation by 2047.

Therefore, investments in infrastructure will be a major lever to boost the economy and raise living standards. A massive $1.44 trillion outlay is envisaged over the next five years, with proportionate money already ear-marked for this year. The emphasis on education and healthcare will continue unabated.

But the message as usual is sandwiched between the lines.

Both the spirit of the BJP manifesto and the tenor of Narendra Modi’s election speeches ooze a sense of self-assuredness that inspire confidence among the electorate.

Without being either boastful or apologetic of his government’s record of the past five years, he is managing to convince the people that he has been working in right earnest.

Although he may not have been able to deliver on all counts, he remains sincere about his commitments — and he deserves another term.

Also read: NYAY: Why the math doesn’t add up