With elections scheduled for February 14 in Uttarakhand, political parties have swung into action, competing with one another in promising sops to people. The Congress is hoping to make a comeback in the hill State, which has a history of not returning the ruling party to office—the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) this time. It has released the ‘Swabhimaan Pratigya Patra’, a manifesto aimed at enticing youths and women with the promise to generate 4,00,000 jobs and reserve 40 per cent police postings for women. The BJP has perhaps realised that messages aimed at polarising voters on communal lines—such as the recent accusation by its A-lister leaders that the Congress is planning to set up a Muslim university in the State—may not be enough to woo voters. The party has been delaying the release of its manifesto, with insiders indicating that a major rehash of the document is under way after the Congress dished out a populist manifesto aimed at rallying the under-35 electorate behind it.
Congress’ manifesto
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi released the party’s manifesto on February 2 at a virtual rally that was live-streamed across the State’s 70 constituencies. She told the women voters: “It is the women of Uttarakhand, especially in the hilly areas, who have to do the maximum hard work. They have to work in the fields as well as manage the household. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they suffered the most but hardly any political party talks about them. Our party promises to work for their empowerment, if voted to power.”
The Congress’ sudden deployment of Priyanka Gandhi is seen as its way of countering the BJP’s Hindutva-centred electioneering. The party seems to believe that that the buzz surrounding her gender-centred campaigns so far in Uttar Pradesh and her image of being an intrepid, untainted politician will appeal to not only women but also diverse groups of youths, thus preventing the BJP from turning the election into a communal contest. Also read: BJP’s dubious double engine.
BJP’s pitch
The BJP, on the other hand, is trying to sell the idea of a “double-engine” government, arguing that the same party at the Centre and in the State can function as two engines to expedite development. The party has taken its campaign literally to the people’s doorsteps, with Home Minister Amit Shah himself helming people-to-people contact programmes. On January 28, he launched a diatribe against the grand old party at a gathering of ex-servicemen in Rudraprayag district. “Whenever the Congress has come to power in Uttarakhand, it has failed to work for the development of the State. It only indulged in corruption. But the BJP has always worked for the development of the State and welfare of its people. It is because of this that the Congress governments have been described by people as failed ones while that of the BJP is termed as a double-engine government for its determination to work for development,” he said.
Being aware of the fact that Uttarakhand sends a considerable number of people to the armed forces, Amit Shah attempted to portray the Congress as a party that was indifferent to national security, while applauding Narendra Modi’s government for prioritising the modernisation of the defence machinery. He told the defence veterans: “It was Prime Minister Modi who gave modern rifles and new bulletproof jackets to soldiers after decades. During the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] tenure, the defence budget was reduced every year with only Rs.2 lakh crore alloted in 2013-14, which was increased to Rs.4.78 lakh crore in 2021-22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented the One Rank One Pension scheme, which the Congress government had failed to implement even after passing its three generations.” Also read: A sticky wicket in the west The BJP’s thrust is on grassroots campaigning by convening as many as 10 meetings at every booth in Uttarakhand ahead of the polling day. It is also attempting to mire the Congress in controversies surrounding religion and national security.