With all political parties displaying an almost cavalier attitude
towards their manifestos, what value does this piece of paper hold in
today's governance? Rakesh kumar checks out
Apart from Narenda Modi, the other talking point in the run-up to
the ongoing election was the manifestos of political parties. While some
parties took ages to write it down some opted for just a slight change
in their previous manifestos. But in either case, the crux of the story
was that all the political parties ~ Congress, BJP, AAP or Left ~ were
casual in terms of releasing their manifesto. Some 1.25 crore Indians
are all set to exercise their franchise in the world's biggest election
exercise from 7-12 May and votes will be counted on 16 May. But in midst
of all this, the question bothering everybody again and again is what
made these political parties take their manifestos so lightly. If one
takes a look back in history, one will find that a manifesto was a
communication tool. The party manifesto is prepared in order to both
increase the percentage of votes and explain the programmes and aims of
the party to the electorate. India's first prime minister,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru released his manifesto just as a Five-Year-Plan ~
it used to top his priority list. Although, in recent decades the
status of electoral manifesto has diminished somewhat due to a
significant tendency for winning parties to, following the election,
either ignore, indefinitely delay, or even outright reject manifesto
policies which were used to rouse public popularity.
What is a manifesto?
For any political party its manifesto is generally acc
epted as the most
significant and effective communication tool as it contains the plans,
strategies and tactics for the political thoughts and beliefs on
governing the country. The most distinctive point between the different
political party manifestos is reference to different political thoughts
with the right to choose the most effective one. Moreover, it is obvious
that the political party has to develop a specific manifesto, which is
able to convey all the important thoughts, aims and political
principles, while being comprehensive and dynamic to keep up with the
changing conditions that can affect the country's domestic politics and
international relations as well. Election manifestos play an important
role in all the countries vying to form a government at the state or at
the national level. These manifestos act as the guideline as well as the
mirror for interpreting the process by which a political party will
function for the welfare of the public.
Why this apathy?
The lack of seriousness towards the election manifesto could be traced
from the year 1996 and courtesy goes to none other than the coalition
government then. The nature of governments that have been formed at the
centre since 1996 was one of coalition, which was with support and
participation of at least half a dozen political parties. In this type
of government, the role and importance of individual party manifestos
get diluted, if not completely devalued. In some coalition governments
of the past, the pre-poll manifestos of individual parties gave way to a
post-poll common minimum programme.
And in some coalition governments, even a common minimum programme was
given a go-by and governance followed neither the manifestos of the
coalition partners nor any mutually agreed action plan. The next
government after May 2014 is also likely to be led by a coalition of
parties, political pundits predict. That perhaps explains why both
political parties and even the voters have turned indifferent towards
the promises made in manifestos.
Promises fulfilled?
Election manifestos play an important role as they act as a guideline as
well as mirror to interpret the process by which a political party will
function for the welfare of the public. Here the question comes as to
how many of these promises get fulfilled. Most of us would agree they
are not. So what is the purpose of the releasing a manifesto? Could this
be a reason that the manifesto is now reduced to a promotional
pamphlet? Is this also why voters also seem disinterested towards
political manifestos? If politicians say manifestos are made for the
welfare for the people, why are they not made by people's choice.
Therefore, with coming of elections, various NGOs, people and
organisations are coming up with their own manifesto dedicated to
different segments of society. For instance, some are coming up with
manifestos for women, some for the handicapped, some for
transgender people and for children.
Women's manifesto
While deciding the manifesto many of our leaders forget about those who
contribute a lot to the country. Yes, women, who constitute around 49
per cent of population or voters of the country, have negligible
presence among the leaders. For them Tata Global Beverages and the
Tata group released a 10-point "Voice of 49%" women's manifesto,
aggregating issues raised by more than a million women from across
India. The key issues that have emerged in the manifesto are broadly
around the themes of violence, safety, health and education. "In our
research we found that for most women, decisions on who to vote for are
influenced by male members of their families. They are not able to
contribute their voice in an election. They go with the flow. But we
urge women to go and cast an informed vote for a candidate, who is most
likely to address their issues ahead of General Elections 2014," said
Vikram Grover, vice-president, marketing, India and South Asia, Tata
Global Beverages.
Some of the points raised are: politicians must lead by example by
displaying zero tolerance for perpetrators of domestic abuse and dowry
in political parties; address the under representation of women in
Parliament through increased representation in party ticket distribution
as well as cabinet; make gender sensitisation for boys a compulsory
part of the school curriculum from Class V to XII in order to counter
eve-teasing; increase percentage of women police personnel from current
five per cent to at least 33 per cent; build a combined "front line
army" of government workers, NGOs, local health and sanitation workers
with accredited social health activists; build 1crore women toilets
within a year with privacy and 24/7 access to water; provide mandatory
crèches and women-friendly maternity policies that include long-term
leave ~ both rural and urban; incentivise schooling for girls by
providing financial saving schemes and free transportation; install
GPS on all buses, double the number of street lights and provide round
the clock public transportation for women; and provide complete medical,
legal and psychological support to victims of domestic violence by
instituting special family counseling centres in government buildings
and policy centres
Manifesto for youth
Apart from women, the youth has been always been another focal point for
politicians. And why not, as they constitute more than 70 per cent of
the population? However, there are hardly any political parties, which
have given youth more space. Though they have been ignored by the
politicians, this time they do not seem to be keep quiet. And to help
them, many NGOs have also joined them. In one such initiative,
UnManifesto 10+1:Tipping point of our Democracy, 40 organisations
reached out to 14.5 lakh youth, across the spectrum of identities, in 20
Indian states and two union territories. Of the 80,000 promises
collected and collated through on-ground facilitation, events and online
portals, top 10+1 promises were presented to different political
parties to include in their manifestos. The group had representations
from schools and colleges, urban-rural youth groups, people from
marginalised communities, including the LGBT community. Their demands
are in all spheres ~ a better education system with stronger emphasis on
implementation of Right to Education (RTE); amending of AFSPA in
northeastern states; demanding safe public spaces for women with greater
emphasis on fighting violence against women; voicing the need for
good-quality 24 hour hospitals in remote rural areas; the need for
decriminalisation of article 377; the requirement of passing of the 33
per cent reservation for youth and women in Parliament; the urgency of
passing of Lokpal Bill to curb corruption; the dire need of providing
unemployment wages for the people above the age of 21; and not just
demanding legalisation of sex work but also providing sex workers with
health benefits and pensions.
Manifesto for children
"Just because we do not have the right to vote and choose our leaders
does not mean that our rights should be denied by the political parties.
They should understand the apathy that we undergo each day and mention
our needs in their menifestos," said 18-year-old Murugan, summing up the
story of thousands of teenagers who are not only concerned about t
heir
future but also their political leaders. Organised by the National
Assembly of Children with Vulnerabilities, hosted by World Vision India
in the Capital from 16 states across the country, the children gathered
to raise their voices and put forward their demands to national leaders
and urge political parties to include their voices in their election
manifestos. They have raised issues like drug de-addiction facilities in
every district, no rag-picking by kids, stopping of child abuse and
exploitation.
"It is unfortunate to reflect on the fact that 40 per cent of India's
population is below the age of 18 years and only 3.9 per cent of the
Central Budget is allocated for child-related issues. It is because of
such negligence that the vulnerable children feel insecure in our
society and this has prompted them to come forward with their demands.
Many of the disabled children from various parts of the country shared
their bitter experience in the pursuit of education and discussed the
need for a handicapped-friendly infrastructure in schools and
colleges.
Manifesto for all
A group of civil society organizations, led by Wada Na Todo Abhiyaan,
released the "People's Manifesto" in an effort to give voice to the
demands, concerns and aspirations of the people across the country
before the upcoming elections. Their demands are to ensure the highest
standards of healthcare accessible to and affordable by all; prevent
health conditions from worsening by ensuring universal access to safe
drinking water and sanitation facility; corporate funding for education,
amounting to a minimum of six per cent of GDP; ensure nutritious food
for all through effective implementation of National Food Security Act;
legislate National Housing Policy and National rehabilitation Policy;
strengthen implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA (MGNREGA) Act;
safeguard land rights of the adivasis by strongimplementation the Forest
Rights Act (FRA) 2006; pass the Women's Reservation Bill with immediate
effect; protect the right of every child to survive, be healthy and
safe; bring a legislation on SCP and TCP to give legal sanction to the
plan allocation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; prioritise and
strengthen human rights and access to justice; and commit to
accountable governance.
Party manifestoes
Congress first
In comparison to other parties, the Congress seemed to be quicker to
launch their manifesto, in which one could find that they have tried to
revive the economic growth, which had decelerated in the last few years
of the Congress-led government. The party's manifesto is categorical
about a host of progressive measures such as those on flexible labour,
expeditious introduction of GST and the simplified direct taxes code,
both of which should enhance the economy's efficiency. Moreover, they
have also promised a new right to health policies to lift 800 million
people into the middle class and GDP growth rate of more than 8 per cent
in the next three years. On the question of reservation of jobs in the
private sector, the Congress manifesto has adopted a tentative approach.
It has talked about its commitment to creating national consensus on
affirmative action for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the
private sector.
Check the BJP
BJP, which claims to be the strongest contender to form or lead the next
government at the Centre, and was the first to declare its prime
ministerial candidate, came up with their manifesto very late. By the
time, they released the manifesto, the country was already casting their
votes for six Lok Sabha seats. The BJP's manifesto alludes to
inflation, employment, entrepreneurship, bringing back black money lying
in foreign accounts and tackling policy paralysis. On corruption, the
BJP has said it will focus on public awareness, e-governance and
rationalisation of the tax regime. The party also promised to bring the
GST tax regime in the country and while re-affirming its stand on no
FDI in multi-brand retail, said it was open to FDI in all other sectors
to raise employment in the nation. How many of them get fulfilled only
time will tell.
Just a year-old party, the AAP has projected itself as one of the
biggest anti-corruption parties. However the party, which has termed
itself as torchbearer of change, also falls in the league of those
releasing their manifesto very late ~ less than a week before the
country was ready to choose its next government. In its manifesto the
AAP has emphasised on Jan Lokpal Bill, decentralisation of political and
economic power, revival of rural economy and good governance as the
priority areas. The party has promised a slew of initiatives, including
installation of CCTV cameras in court rooms and police stations, and
bringing down the age to contest elections from 25 to 21.
AAP's manifesto
Everything looks messed up or cluttered in the newly-opened
restaurant Imperfecto Gurgaon. Cycles are strung upside down cycles
along the walls that are adorned with warped paintings, chairs are hung
on the walls, beds used for tables and upside down lamps act as ceiling
lights ~ in other words, it is a topsy turvy world. And in this
imperfect place, people could be seen enjoying themselves. Certainly,
imperfection is the restaurant's USPs to set it apart from other
high-end restaurants in the Capital. For us this was also one of the
reasons to step into the restaurant. 
Mediterranean and Spanish food. The menu has
roasts, grills, burger, main courses, sandwiches, pizzas and desserts.
And their bar offers wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverages. We started our culinary journey with Pizza Chicken with
Barbecue Sauce, made up of chicken marinated with exotic herbs, fresh
tomatoes and basil, mozzarella, oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil ~ it
was superb. Next on the platter was Risotto Fungi Porcini with
champagne ~ Risotto with mushroom porcini Italian, flavours of basil,
parmesan cheese, French champagne and olive oil, served with bread. It
was a vegetarian dish and more than its taste I liked their serving
style. Then there was Chicken in Pesto Sauce ~ Chicken marinated with
pesto sauce, roasted garlic, onion, herbs and olive oil and grilled. The
final fare was Exotic Mushrooms with Garlic made up with a typical
Tapas from the Spanish capital, with flavours of spice and herbs, also
served with bread. For dessert we had Pudding of Chocolate. 
