New Delhi: Implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), ‘One Nation, One Election’ and expanding the Ayushman Bharat scheme to cover all citizens above the age of 70 are some of the key promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha Elections, which was released Sunday, just five days before the first phase of polling.
The manifesto or sankalp patra was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said it focuses on empowering women, the poor, young people and farmers — the four groups he has been characterising as the four “castes” that need to be empowered.
Party president J.P. Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other senior party leaders were present at the launch of the manifesto at the BJP’s headquarters in Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said the “entire country eagerly waits for the BJP’s sankalp patra. There is a big reason for this! In the last 10 years, the BJP has fulfilled each and every promise it made.”
Singh — the manifesto committee’s chairperson — said the BJP’s manifesto was seen as the gold standard in world politics. The committee had received over 15 lakh suggestions, he said.
Here are the key announcements:
Bringing in Uniform Civil Code
The BJP has promised to bring in the much-debated Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if voted to power. “Article 44 of the Constitution lists Uniform Civil Code as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy. BJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time [as] Bharat adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draw a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonising them with the modern times,” reads the manifesto.
One Nation, One Election
The Modi government had set up a committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind to look into the feasibility of conducting general and state simultaneous elections, and the panel outlined a mechanism to implement this in its report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu last month.
In its sankalp patra, the BJP referred to this and said it would “work towards the implementation of the recommendations of the committee”.
Introducing common electoral roll
The party has said it would make provisions for a common electoral roll “for all levels of elections” — also part of the mechanism outlined by the Kovind-led panel on simultaneous polls.
Three crore Lakhpati Didis
The prime minister during his speech said his government had empowered one crore rural women to become ‘Lakhpati Didis’ — a scheme aiming to encourage women to start microenterprises within their villages and train them so that they can earn at least Rs 1 lakh per annum per household.
Now, the party has pledged to “empower three crore rural women to become Lakhpati Didis”.
Ayushman for senior citizens
The BJP has promised to expand the Ayushman Bharat Yojana to cover senior citizens and provide them access to free, quality healthcare. Every senior citizen above the age of 70 years, whether poor, middle-class or upper-middle class, will get free treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh.
Ensuring ‘robust infrastructure’ along borders
The BJP has also promised better infrastructure along India’s various international borders.
The manifesto said that “the gross neglect by previous governments resulted in poor infrastructure in border areas. We have corrected this grave error and started constructing roads, railway, telecom towers, optical fibre cables and electricity networks. We will accelerate development of robust infrastructure along the Indo-China, Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Myanmar borders. We will introduce technological solutions on fenced portions to make fencing smarter.”
Also read: How promises in BJP’s manifesto for Indian economy focus more on continuity rather than a shakeup
Establishing facilities for drivers along National Highways
The BJP has also said it will introduce a new scheme for truck drivers under which “modern facilities will be developed along the national highways”. In his speech, too, Modi highlighted how this was much needed to ensure the drivers get to rest.
The party has also promised to include auto, taxi, truck and other drivers in all social security schemes. “We will onboard auto, taxi, truck and other drivers on [the] e-Shram portal and ensure 100 percent coverage of all drivers under insurance and other welfare programmes”.
Preserving and promoting the legacy of Lord Ram
The BJP in its manifesto said that the Ramayana is celebrated across the world, particularly in South and Southeast Asia.
“We will launch a global outreach programme for documenting and promoting the tangible and intangible legacy of Lord Ram in all countries. We will celebrate Ramayan Utsav with great fervour across the globe to commemorate the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla,” it said, referring to the consecration of the idol at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in January.
Global certification for Yoga
The party has said it would facilitate Yoga and Ayurveda institutes “in all the major countries” to provide certified courses. It added, “We will also establish a globally recognised certification mechanism for Yoga and Ayurveda.”
Launch of Gaganyaan
The manifesto has referred to the planned launch of Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight mission. It also talked about two projects the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has in the works — landing an astronaut on the moon by 2040 and establishing India’s first space station, the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, by 2035 — and further pledged to operationalise a second launch complex.
Krishi Infrastructure Mission
For farmers, the BJP has promised to launch a Krishi Infrastructure Mission for “integrated planning and coordinated implementation of agri-infrastructure projects like storage facilities, irrigation, grading and sorting units, cold storage facilities and food processing among others”.
2036 Olympics
The BJP has promised to facilitate a bid by the Indian Olympic Association to host the Olympic Games in 2036, and also to “develop sports infrastructure like stadiums and state-of-the-art training centres to host major international sporting events”.
Paper leaks
In February, Parliament had passed a law aiming to curb malpractices and question paper leaks in public examinations — the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
Referring to this, the manifesto said, “we will strictly implement this law to ensure strict punishment to those playing with the future of our youth”.
It further said that it would help states that request support in conducting recruitment examinations by extending central government capacity.
Satellite townships
The BJP has said it would encourage the creation of new satellite townships near metro cities across India through a combination of reforms and policy initiatives. “We will encourage mixed use and transit oriented development through the same,” it said.
Making Bharat a manufacturing hub, creating jobs
Saying that manufacturing had emerged under the Make in India programme as a “major economic sector with good success in electronics, defence, mobile, automobiles and more”, the BJP promised to work towards “making Bharat a global manufacturing hub and enhance employment in these crucial sectors”.
Welfare of transgenders
The BJP has promised to expand the network of Garima Grahas for transgender people. “We will expand the network of Garima Grahas to cater to the needs of transgender individuals. We will issue identity cards to ensure their recognition nationwide. Furthermore, all eligible transgender individuals will be covered under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana,” the manifesto said.
PM E-bus
The BJP has said the government had started multiple programmes to protect the environment like PM Surya Ghar Yojana, railway electrification, PM e-Bus, promotion of EVs, ethanol and bio-fuel promotion, among others. “Through these programmes, our citizens will benefit from the opportunity to live in a clean environment”. The manifesto has pledged to extend the e-Bus scheme to other eligible cities.
One nation, one student card
The BJP has also promised to implement “One Nation, One Student ID”, referring to the APAAR ID that has already been launched. Envisioned in the National Education Policy, 2020, this links all a student’s academic learnings, credentials and credits earned from different sources, including ones related to areas like sports and social work.
“We will achieve 100 percent implementation of ‘One Nation, One Student ID’ through the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) to store academic qualifications, credit scores and certificates, among others for students from pre-primary to higher education,” it said.
Free electricity through solar
The BJP has promised to provide free electricity to poor households under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, a scheme launched earlier this year to provide subsidies to install rooftop solar panels.
Real estate sector
The party has promised to strengthen the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA ACT), which has “helped make the real estate sector in Bharat more transparent and citizen friendly than ever before”.
The BJP has also promised to build 3 crore more houses for the poor and to work at a fast pace to provide households with affordable piped gas.
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