India Elections 2009 – BJP Manifesto

Now that both the BJP and Congress Manifestoes have been made public the public debate can shift from personalities to issues.

It is clear that elections 2009 will not see a definitive fault-line along straight-jacket political ideologies typical of Western Democracies.

But then it is a curious year to be complaining about it for the Global Economic Meltdown has rendered these straight-jacket labels largely irrelevant with the trillion dollar bailouts.

So how must we bring sanity to this Manifesto Madness debate within the Indian context ?

We can do so by first recognizing  the present day political reality.

What we have in India are essentially Center Left leaning and Center Right  leaning “Minority Coalitions”.

Compounding this reality is the fact that these “Minority Coalitions” have to make further “pportunistic compromises” to close the gap to the half-way mark which gets them a simple majority.

Hence to judge these Minority Manifestoes on the basis of hard ideological definitions is foolish.

Instead we must judge them on the basis of the cost at which they will make opportunistic compromises and on the basis of that which will not be compromised.

More detailed analysis is bound to follow over the days to come from experts on the financial implications and the relative merits of the two manifestoes, it is clear that there is a fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP’s approach.

Where the Congress seeks to tax and spend, the BJP has clearly staked itself for a low tax regime.

On entitlements too one can see subtle differences like when the BJP promises 35kgs of subsidised rice or wheat at Rs 2 for BPL Families it is not doing so at the expense of an enlarged and flawed Public Distribution System but by making a beginning on Direct Delivery of Entitlements via Food Coupons that will be redeemable at both PDS and Private Outlet.

Similarly Bicycle handout program is tied to Girl Child School Enrollment.

On education while promising entitlements at the primary and secondary level, the BJP has also subtly differentiated itself on the the question of full autonomy to Institutions of Higher Education with an emphasis on the Private Sector.

Freedom and Autonomy make a come back again on the question of Science and Technology Research by Academic and Research Organizations and on the question of Financial Autonomy to Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies.

In closing if there is one proposal that stands out in the BJP Manifesto it is the proposal to free Hindu Religious bodies from Government Control.

It is a travesty of Indian Democracy that an avowedly Secular State has resorted to Constitutional Ammendments to ensure Government control of Religious bodies like the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam.

From Sabarimalai to Tamil New Year, there have been numerous instances of the tyranny of State Control on the functioning of Hindu Temples and Religious bodies.

By promising to revert control to the stakeholders of these Institutions amongst the devotees and local communities, the BJP proposal will uphold true secularism and religious freedom.

This proposal could also provide a framework for resolving contentious issues like Ram Janmabhoomi and Amarnath.

As coalition politics continues to make party manifestoes largely inconsequential it will be important to see how the NDA’s National Agenda for Governance and Vision for the Country will reflect the Centre-Right leaning proposals in the BJP Manifesto and go beyond them on the question of Economic Reforms, Privatization and Disinvestment.

Originally posted here

Filed under: Dharmayudh-2009, India Elections 2009, India Lok Sabha Elections 2009, Lok Sabha Polls 2008-2009