How BJP and Congress are wooing voters in Madhya Pradesh with their manifestos

Bhopal: With only a few days left for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, the two main contenders, BJP and Congress, have released their respective manifestos. The BJP manifesto, which was released on Saturday, promises a slew of welfare schemes and development projects for the state. The Congress manifesto, which was released earlier, focuses on providing relief and empowerment to the common people.

The BJP manifesto, titled ‘Sankalp Patra’, was released by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Bhopal. It contains 311 promises, covering various sectors such as agriculture, health, education, women, tribal, infrastructure, culture, and tourism. Some of the key promises are:

• Free ration to the poor for five years under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
• Minimum support price of Rs 2700 per quintal for wheat and Rs 3100 per quintal for paddy
• Annual income support of Rs 12,000 to farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi and Kisan Kalyan Yojana
• Housing for all by 2022 under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojana
• Financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to women for permanent housing under the Priyadarshini Yojana
• At least one employment or self-employment opportunity to every family under the Rozgar Sankalp Yojana
• Skill training to 15 lakh rural women to make them millionaires under the Mahila Udyami Yojana
• Rs 2 lakh to girl children from birth till 21 years of age under the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana
• Free education from KG to PG to girl students from poor families under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana
• Subsidized gas cylinder of Rs 450 to Ujjwala and Ladli beneficiaries under the Ujjwala Plus Yojana
• Rs 3 lakh crore for the empowerment of the tribal community under the Van Dhan Yojana
• Rs 4,000 per bag for tendupatta collection under the Tendupatta Sangrahak Kalyan Yojana
• Eklavya Vidyalayas in ST blocks and medical colleges in ST dominated districts under the Eklavya Shiksha Yojana
• Free education to all students from poor families till class 12th under the Shiksha Protsahan Yojana
• Nutritious breakfast along with mid-day meal in government schools under the Poshan Aahar Yojana
• Madhya Pradesh Institute of Technology and Madhya Pradesh Institute of Medical Sciences on the lines of IIT and AIIMS under the Madhya Pradesh Shiksha Vikas Yojana
• Grand construction of 13 cultural worlds under the Sanskriti Dham Yojana
• Construction of six new expressways – Vindhya Expressway, Narmada Expressway, Atal Pragati Path, Malwa Nimar Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and Madhya Bharat Vikas Path under the Madhya Pradesh Vikas Yojana
• Vande Metro project in Bhopal and Indore and Vande Bharat Sleeper Train with modernization of 80 railway stations under the Madhya Pradesh Parivahan Yojana
• Airports in Rewa, Singrauli and Shahdol under the Madhya Pradesh Udyan Yojana
• Hi-tech health system with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore under the Madhya Pradesh Swasthya Yojana
• Doubling of beds in hospitals and ICUs under the Madhya Pradesh Arogya Yojana

The Congress manifesto, titled ‘Vachan Patra’, was released by former Chief Minister Kamal Nath in Bhopal. It contains 243 promises, covering various sectors such as women, electricity, pension, agriculture, education, tribal, reservation, health and social security. Some of the key promises are:

• Rs 1,500 per month to women and Rs 500 gas cylinder under the Nyay Yojana
• 100 units of electricity free of cost and 200 units at half rate to more than one crore electricity consumers under the Bijli Bill Mafi Yojana
• Re-implementation of the old pension scheme for employees under the Naukarshahi Sudhar Yojana
• Free electricity for agricultural pumps up to 5 horse power under the Kisan Kalyan Yojana
• Waiver of old electricity bill under the Kisan Karj Mafi Yojana
• 12 hours electricity for irrigation under the Kisan Sinchai Yojana
• Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 per month to school children under the Padho Padhao Yojana
• Inclusion of tribal dominated areas with more than 50 percent population in the Sixth Schedule under the Adivasi Kalyan Yojana
• 27 percent reservation for OBC under the Samajik Nyay Yojana
• Caste based census when coming into government under the Jati Ganan Yojana
• Minimum support price of Rs 2,500 per quintal for paddy and Rs 2,600 per quintal for wheat under the Kisan Samman Yojana
• Rs 2 per kg for cow dung under the Gau Sanrakshan Yojana
• Nandini scheme to provide milk and ghee at subsidized rates under the Nandini Yojana
• Recruitment on 2 lakh posts under the Rozgar Srijan Yojana
• Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 to unemployed youth under the Yuva Swabhiman Yojana
• Health insurance of Rs 25 lakh and accident insurance of Rs 10 lakh under the Madhya Pradesh Bima Yojana
• Right to health law to ensure quality and affordable health care under the Madhya Pradesh Swasthya Adhikar Yojana
• Social security pension of Rs 1,200 per month under the Madhya Pradesh Samajik Suraksha Yojana
• Rs 2,51,000 to girl children under the Meri Beti Meri Dhan Yojana

The following table summarizes the main promises of both the parties: