Explained: What Is BJP’s Election Manifesto Promising Bihar?

The BJP wing has come up with an election manifesto that has a rather interesting list of promises for the upcoming Bihar state assembly elections. How we wish the actual result of the political parties after 5 years would even remotely resemble their election manifesto.

Here’s a look into the election manifesto and an attempt to explore the work by the BJP in Bihar for 5 years. We will examine the five major highlights from the 11 points election manifesto of BJP for Bihar released by the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.

Give Vote, Get Vaccine!

The free covid vaccinations have been the crown jewel to the election campaign of the BJP wing in the run-up to the state elections. BJP is not leaving a single stone unturned to utilize the perfect position to be able to make these promises. The command at the Center’s command gives BJP almost free reigns in deciding the price and distribution of the vaccinations whenever a successful one is made. How ethical is this promise and how legally strong is it? Let’s take a look.

At a time, when hundreds in the country, including frontline health workers, are losing their lives every day due to the pandemic, how ethical is it to use vaccinations as a political gimmick? Does it suit the party at power to stoop to the level of claiming that a single state would be the get the vaccinations for free with utter disregard for equitable distribution based on need and not dependent on whether the state is up for elections?

It’s quite a political spectacle to make such a claim which considering its proximity to elections cannot remotely be considered as genuine concern for the state because if there would have been any, Bihar would have seen some actual development in the five years the BJP alliance ruled.

If genuine concern for the people of Bihar was indeed the aim, why make such an announcement only when it’s this close to elections?

Surely, if the sentiment is all that’s on the table at present considering the fact a successful vaccine can’t be seen in the immediate future as well, why not express that sentiment before? Why not tell the people of Bihar on the very first day that Bihar experienced the wrath of the pandemic that the party would sponsor free vaccines in the state? Why not do it a month later? Why not do it at any other time but a week before the elections?

While the opposition is accused of seeing propaganda where there isn’t any, the government at power expects us to believe their politics can exist without the same. Madhya Pradesh has made the same promises as it goes to elections next early November. If yes, how long will this gimmick sustain? Or to say it in the words of Rahul Gandhi-

 “GOI just announced India’s Covid access strategy. Kindly refer to the state-wise election schedule to know when will you get it, along with a hoard of false promises.”

Coming to the legal aspect, according to the Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the promise has the green light. While crores are spent on political advertising and election campaigning, the same money is not made available when the country is in dire need of it.

If the PM ‘Cares’, it’s time the party he represents expresses it clearly. And there cannot be a better time to do so.

The Promise Of ‘New Jobs’ With No Talk Of The Lost Old Ones

The Janata Dal-United and BJP alliance led by Nitish Kumar is set to contest the 2020 elections again with the promise of 19 lakh new jobs. Looking at the data from last year, let’s determine the probability of such a claim. In the five year term that BJP had the reigns of Bihar, the one thing that did see a rise is the unemployment rate. Even if we consider the unforeseen pandemic which affected the whole of India, Bihar still underperformed in terms of employment in comparison to other Indian states.

Bihar, which is primarily dependent on agriculture for the economy has been promised 19 lakh new jobs by the very party that has farmers out on the streets protesting against the Farmer Bills.

They say, judge an action not by its result but by its intent. Even in that context, I fail to see the justification and validity of BJP being a considerate ally to the farmers on one side and turning a deaf ear to thousands of farmers the very next moment.

40% Teacher Vacancies

Let’s examine the third promise that is the creation of 3 lakhs teachers positions. Bihar at present faces a 40% vacancy in government staff for educational institutions. There are jobs that do need to be created but simply exist as a result of the inability of the present ruling government to fill those job vacancies. Teachers qualified for these jobs exist. The job vacancies already exist. The simple question arises.

How is the fact that ‘thousands of jobs were not filled by the government for over five years’ a highlight that is paraded around in election manifestos when instead, it is a clear reminder of the government’s fallacies in the first place.

Crticisers are accused of seeing the glass half empty, how does one see a glass that is empty but merely offers an illusion of being full? That’s called a mirage, something our political parties have quite a hand for successfully creating. It’s time our focus shifted away from the construction of Ram Mandir to the development and law and order in his country and judge the present government’s performance on parameters that affect the country on a real-time basis.

Promises like the creation of 1 lakh jobs in the health sector and providing homes for 30 lakh people have been made in the manifesto. While one sincerely hopes for these promises to come true, one is also reminded of the sad reality that politics in our country has long been synonymous with fake long-shot promises. It’s time that changes and Bihar becomes the state leading that change.