Patna: In a major sop to Bihar voters, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday promised free COVID-19 vaccine after its approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Union Finance Minister and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman released the party’s manifesto for the three-phased Bihar elections, The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported.
“In the fight against coronavirus, the NDA government has set an example in the country. It is our resolution that as soon as the vaccine will be approved by the ICMR, every person in the State will be vaccinated,” the manifesto said.
“As soon as COVID-19 vaccine will be available for production at a mass scale every person in Bihar will get free vaccination. This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto,” Sitharaman said.
The senior BJP leader said that all the citizens are politically sensitive and well informed in Bihar, the report added.
“They know and understand the promises a party makes. If anyone raises questions on our manifesto, we can answer them with confidence as we fulfill what we promised,” she added.
Appealing to all voters in the State to vote for NDA and make it win, Sitharaman said, “Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister of Bihar for the next 5 years. Under his rule, Bihar will become a progressive and developed state of India.”
The BJP is contesting the Bihar election in alliance with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United). The JD(U) is contesting on 122 seats and BJP on 121 in the 243-member state Assembly.
The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ – an alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Left parties has already released its manifesto.
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by Chirag Paswan released its manifesto on Wednesday for the Bihar Assembly poll in Patna, the report added.
