The Congress is all set to make a master stroke in the assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh. While the BJP took the lead in releasing the first list, the Congress is now going to release the manifesto after releasing the first list. Just as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has tried to cater to every class by playing one master stroke after another, Congress is now turning its attention towards all classes. It is being said that preparations are being made to include some major announcements in the manifesto to be released today, which might act as a blow to Shivraj government’s plans.
The Congress is focused the most on women, youth, OBCs and farmers in its manifesto. In order to connect women with the mainstream, Congress has prepared a separate manifesto for women, which has been named Priyadarshini. Congress had formed a manifesto committee under the leadership of former Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Dr. Rajendra Kumar Singh. It took 8 months to finalize the manifesto. In this, 25 Congress leaders including 3 retired IAS officers and many state service officers have played a key role.
According to sources, the manifesto will be of around 104 pages. In which more than 1,500 announcements have been included. In view of the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress and BJP have made many announcements. Experts believe that the cost of these announcements is at least Rs 50 thousand crores. The state will have to bear this huge expenditure. Recently, the Chief Election Commissioner had also indicated this. To compete with Ayushman Yojana, Congress is coming up with Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme this time on the lines of the Rajasthan government. In which health insurance up to Rs 15 lakh will be given.
The Congress and BJP have the highest focus on 2.72 crore women voters. This is the reason why Congress has announced to give Rs 1,500 per month under Nari Shakti Samman. While these schemes are not fiscally sustainable as pointed out by economists yet political parties are leaving no stone unturned to win the election . Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has a lot of promises that remain to be fulfilled and his ministers have not been very popular but the congress also has a tough election ahead.