Manifestos Missing In Poll Narrative

Bhubaneswar: The 2019 elections are turning out to be a fight of personalities than issues, which though in plenty have become non-existent with barbs targeted at the party leadership.

While the Congress is likely to launch its crowd-sourced manifesto on Tuesday, the other two major parties in Odisha – BJD and BJP –  are yet to come up with their own, even three weeks after announcement of poll dates.

The three parties are in the process of releasing their candidates’ lists, though in instalments, for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to be held in four phases in the state from April 11. But the issues on which the elections are being fought at the national and state level are still missing.

The Election Commission has fixed an outer limit for release of party manifestos, under the model code of conduct, putting a bar on it being done 48 hours before polling. During multi-phase polls, the 48-hour restriction will apply before each polling date.

While BJP national president Amit Shah had earlier said the saffron party will fight the upcoming polls on the issues of development, defence and the country’s self-respect, the Congress switched its campaign focus back to economic and social issues such as jobs, after Narendra Modi’s re-election bid got a boost following hostilities with Pakistan.

“How will the youth get jobs? How will women feel safer, and move forward? What will be done for farmers,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked in her first speech after joining the party as a general secretary. “These are the election issues.”

In Odisha, the BJP national president on Monday invoked Odia pride and exhorted voters in the state to elect a chief minister who can speak the language and understand the sufferings of the masses. Earlier while addressing a rally in Koraput on March 29, Modi made it a case of mazboot (strong) government versus a majboor (helpless) government, while being critical of the state government for its reluctance to implement some central schemes.

The ruling BJD, which had a “please-all” poll manifesto with sops for virtually every segment of society in 2014, is reportedly looking at a more realistic one this election.

“Our manifesto will be completely different from that of other political parties. The other parties will have alluring promises to attract people. The BJD will not step into their shoes. We will come up with a realistic manifesto that will be accepted by all,” BJD Rajya Sabha member and co-chairperson Soumya Ranjan Patnaik of the 37-member manifesto committee for polls told mediapersons on March 21.

With the parties are trying to democratise the poll manifesto compiling process through crowdsourcing, it will be interesting to see how many real issues find space without having to jostle with fancy ideas propagated by the political parties.