“We will deliver.” The Indian Congress party’s 2019 election manifesto boldly declared at the very top of its 54-page long document.
Five years later, things have changed.
The 48-page long manifesto released by the key opposition party standing against the almighty ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now goes with the title “Nyay Patra” (Letter of Justice).
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Congress, the 138-year-grand-old party of India, has ruled the country for more than 50 years in its 75+ years of journey as an independent nation. But with mostly centre-left policies, the party has struggled in the last 10 years to compete with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP that counts the country’s Hindu majority as its main vote base.
The seven-phase Indian general election starts on 19 April, with vote counting on 4 June.
Five pillars of justice
In 2019, economy and growth were the first chapter in the Congress manifesto.
That has slipped down to the 7th chapter in 2024.
The key emphasis is on justice through ‘Paanch Nyay’ or five pillars of justice: ‘Yuva Nyay’ (youth), ‘Naari Nyay’ (woman), ‘Kisaan Nyay’ (farmer), ‘Shramik Nyay’ (labourer), and ‘Hissedari Nyay’ (equity).
“Every aspect of justice has been threatened, weakened, diminished and in some cases, denied in the last 10 years,” Congress leader P Chidambaram told media persons at the manifesto launch.
The manifesto promises the freedom of choice of dress, food, language, and personal laws to India’s minority communities. It also pledges to conduct a nationwide socio-economic and caste census to assess caste and sub-caste demographics along with their socio-economic status. The party has vowed to pursue a constitutional amendment to lift the 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST, and OBC communities.
In 2019, the party’s concerns regarding justice had more to do with social choices. “Will India be a free and democratic country?”
Employment
In both 2019 and 2024, the manifesto promised to fill up government job posts – in 2019, the party had pegged vacancies at 400,000. In 2024, it said: “We will fill the nearly 3 million vacancies in sanctioned posts at various levels in the central government.”
Farmers and MSP
In its last bunch of polls promises, the Congress had promised to help the farmers move from “Karz Maafi” (loan waiver) to “Karz Mukti” (loan-free)”.
The manifesto also promised a separate “Kisan Budget” every year.
This time too, the promises for farmers are mostly similar.
The party has promised to give a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year. Crop insurance will be made farm, and farmer-specific. Premium will be charged from the farmer according to the sum insured.
Healthcare
Like last time, the Congress has stuck to its promise of free universal healthcare.
“We promise that healthcare will be universal and free in public health centres such as hospitals, clinics, primary health centres, mobile healthcare units, dispensaries and health camps.”
Last time the party had promised to double the healthcare expenditure to 3% of GDP by 2023-24. This time, the Congress has promised that budget allocation for health will be increased step by step every year to achieve 4% of total expenditure by 2028-29.
Women
With the BJP-led NDA government passing the Women’s Reservation Bill for 33% of seats for women in the Indian Parliament, the Congress had to come up with new promises.
The party has therefore, pledged 50% of central government jobs for women from 2025.
It has also vowed to ensure that more women are appointed to high positions such as judges, secretaries to government, high-ranking police officers, law officers, and directors on the boards of listed companies.
Promise to plan gap
While the manifesto appears appealing and progressive with promises such as bringing a law recognising civil unions between couples belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, critics are of the view that there is a gap between the rhetoric of promises and a proper action plan.
“This gap between promise and plan suggests a preference for eloquence over substance, leaving voters to wonder about the feasibility of these proposals,” says political columnist Sayantan Ghosh, who also teaches journalism at St Xavier’s College, Kolkata.
“The grandiose nature of its promises, without a pragmatic framework for action, renders it a populist document that may struggle to translate into tangible change,” Ghosh writes in an article for ABP Live.
Sociologist and journalist Sandeep Phukan draws the opinion that the manifesto is solely for the purpose of undoing BJP’s policies.
He writes in The Hindu, “From ‘repairing’ India’s international image and probing electoral bond scheme, to rejecting the idea of one nation, one election,” the manifesto is targeting the key policy initiatives of the ruling BJP. The party even promised full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Would that make voters wonder if the Congress comes to power, will the country spend its next five years, going back and forth between the power pulls of the BJP versus the Congress – while there should hopefully be a more strategic plan and an alternative vision to help India rise?
Leading newspaper The Indian Express also asks in its editorial: Why has the pragmatic balance evident in the manifesto been missing from the speeches of its leaders and the party’s campaigns, yatras and rallies?
Congress has sought to paint an apocalyptic picture of BJP rule and leave it at that, instead of providing an alternative vision of governance and politics, it says.
Social media trend
On X (Twitter), the hashtag #CongressManifesto has been among the top trends since yesterday, with more than 65.4K posts.
Users are divided in their views with a sharp divide visible between BJP and Congress supporters.
On Instagram, the INC’s post on the “Nyay Patra” garnered 76,787 likes with several hundred comments. Some users offered advice to the party.
One user suggested not to run the key opposition party as an “NGO” and to spread their message at the grassroots level through pamphlets.
On Facebook, #CongressManifesto2024 has been a big talking point among users.
Some are highlighting the party’s emphasis on promoting sports if they are voted to power.
Others are highlighting the fact that the party, soon after the release of the manifesto, has started its official campaigning from Telangana in southern India.
The BJP has slammed the Congress party’s manifesto calling it the opposition’s “attempt to whitewash its failings”.
Addressing the media, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, “The party which ruled the country for 50-55 years is now talking about ‘nyay’ (justice), but what did the government do when they were in power?”
He compared it with the BJP’s proven track record in performance and fulfilling promises.
He also took shots at the party claiming that some pictures in the manifesto are not original ones of rivers and places in India.
“There is a picture on water management in the Congress manifesto…which is of the Buffalo River in New York… Under the environment section, there is a picture from Rahul Gandhi’s favoured destination, Thailand…Who is putting all this in their manifesto?” he asked.
