In present political scenario of India, manifestoes fail to work here because no political party gets to cross the magic figure of 272 on its own. It has to depend on other parties to form a coalition government on the basis of a common minimum programme.
By Pathikrit Chakraborty
Rituals are often irritating because they do not necessarily lead to the ultimate goal. Yet they permeate every aspect of social life, even politics.
Publishing manifestoes after the announcement of dates for elections by the Elections Commission of India (ECI) is one such ritual of Indian politics. While political parties make tall claims every time they release their manifestoes, only a few of those claims are actually realised.
This was not in vogue in the early years after India got independence as rarely a party used to print its manifesto – a set of plans or policies or objectives declared by a political party to be pursued after it comes to power. In those times prominent national parties used to print and distribute pamphlets to publicise their intentions.
Manifesto- the need and expenses
One wonders as to why a manifesto is required by a political party. As per the laws it is mandatory to publish a manifesto before elections. Recently, the Supreme Court of India issued strict guidelines against the promise of ‘freebies’ in the manifesto by political parties and also issued a framework for proper implementation of the Model Code of Conduct by the ECI.
Printing of manifestoes, however, is a very costly affair. Political parties print copies of manifestoes in thousands and this requires very large amount of money which adds up to their already burgeoning election expenses.
“It is a long and heavy work. We have to employ many people for printing and then compiling very large number of manifestoes,” Ram Singh, a Delhi-based printing press owner said.
“The ever rising cost of paper has tremendously increased the amount required for printing manifestoes as compared to previous years,” he added.
When asked if the ECI will take any action in this matter, an ECI officer told National Political Mirror, “It is the party’s endeavor. We can only check the schemes mentioned in it and not the cost of printing. But the needless promise of schemes and freebies is strictly under the guidelines framed by the Supreme Court of India.”
Utility
The cost of launching a manifesto is huge but its utility in practice happens to be nil. Not many people get access to or are interested in reading the election manifestoes. In case of web version of manifestoes, only 2.23 per cent people are able to access them through social networking sites and the party website, and less than two per cent catch a glimpse of it on You Tube, according to an estimate.
Voters are generally ignorant of the promises and schemes announced by their favorite parties. Some are not even interested in reading the election manifestoes.
Anjani Gautam, a student of IIT-Madras said, “Why should I waste time in reading a manifesto. It is so big and also heap of lies. Who has time? Often the manifestoes are very long and one can any way catch a glimpse of it on the internet.”
Tanuja Anand, a primary school teacher in Patna asked, “What is a manifesto?” She said that she has never seen or read any such thing. However, she has voted twice in elections.
Majority of voters belong to rural India. They rarely get access to election manifestoes launched by their favorite parties.
Political parties are more interested in marketing the prominent faces of their leaders through rigorous advertising campaigns than distributing manifestoes. “No political party in India tries to distribute their manifesto to the people visiting homes and going to villages,” said a SFI leader Tanmoy from West Bengal.
People can see pictures of their leaders on the cover pages of the newspapers and in television channels. For instance there has been a bombardment of the BJP ad campaign and funny memes Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar along with a big smiling face of Narendra Modi. Similarly, the Congress has also not hold back with its Har Haath Shakti, Har Haath Tarakki poll campaign promoting Rahul Gandhi as the next leader of the country.
Manifesto beyond India
If we take a look at the manifestoes published in leading democracies like the United States of America, we can see a huge difference. Their manifestoes cover all issues like the foreign policy, immigration laws, war issues etc. They aim to address a larger section of people unlike India where political parties target specific set of people based on their castes, religion, sex etc.
In France, the opposition party tries to voice the plans and views by announcing first the name of its Presidential candidate and then hits out at the ruling party telling in open media platforms the frailties in the character of the ruling government. Whereas, the ruling government tries to ensure that the policies rolled out have benefitted the people of the country.
In other European countries the parties also add the budget in their manifestoes which could be scrutinised by courts too.
Russia adopts a very harsh method and its policies are discussed threadbare after proper discussion in the state Duma.
In UK a very cohesive approach is taken out to make the manifesto. Lot of research work is done before it is publicised. The BBC takes charge of this whole mechanism.
Role of electoral authority
However, in many countries like Sweden, Austria, Canada, Netherlands and the USA, electoral authorities have no role to play unlike India. But in Mexico and Bhutan manifestoes require approval from the electoral authority. In other democracies no specific act has been made by the government to monitor manifestoes by any electoral body.
In present political scenario of India, manifestoes fail to work here because no political party gets to cross the magic figure of 272 on its own. It has to depend on other parties to form a coalition government on the basis of a common minimum programme.
Manifesto of two leading parties in India
Indian National Congress (INC)
The Congress packed a punch when it released its manifesto highlighting its ‘development works’ in the country in last 10 years. Tall promises like women’s empowerment and child protection, rural bodies and Panchayati Raj system have been highlighted too. It has promised the growth rate of more than eight per cent. A 15 point pledge is shown which the party says will change the scenario if it is voted back to power. It also promises 60 lakh jobs for unemployed by 2020.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
The BJP has tried its best to woo people with the promises of Ram Mandir in Ayodhaya, abolition of Article 370 from the Constitution of India, entrepreneurship for SC/ST’s. It stresses that India will never use the first atomic bomb and promises security and better law and order situation in the country. It focuses on e-governance, and also promises the launch of a National Multi-skill Mission focusing on promotion of employment skills among the youths.
However, a leading political scientist from Madhya Pradesh termed the manifesto of the BJP as copy-paste. He further added that policies like- one pension, national health assurance scheme in the BJP manifesto have all been copied from the Congress party. He even said that the BJP is currently dominated by Modi who is a one-man army and does not need any manifesto to govern the country.
People’s take
People are not happy with the tall promises made in manifestoes. In the Congress ruled state of Uttarakhand, a medical student, Supriya Jaiswal said, “I have never seen a manifesto, rather billboards of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi are everywhere in my city.”
Rajan, a teacher from Gujarat, feels that manifestoes are heaps of lies with no body or organ to monitor it. “Every party exploits the people. They do not want to fulfill the promises they have made.”
A retired bank person from Kerala suggested using the funds invested in publishing manifestoes for welfare purposes. “Huge amount is spent in making manifestoes. Why not utilise this fund for the welfare of the nation or donate it to charity houses and NGO’s.”
Source: NATIONAL POLITICAL MIRROR, a monthly political magazine