- The Indian citizens must be quite used to the way one or the other elections are conducted right through the year. It could be panchayat, municipal, corporation, assembly, assembly bypoll, Parliamentary bypoll, or legislative council, and there is no dearth of elections being declared allowing the political parties to swing into action for the all-important campaigning perennially. The manifestos of the political parties showcase how they attempt to impress upon the electorate to bless them with their votes. Little wonder, none of the political parties would take a backseat in coming out with promises, assurances, reassurances, incentives, and inducements to ensure the electorate’s attention is caught to reap the benefits at the hustings. That’s the par game.
PC: Freepik
- People of the country would have noticed how the political parties of late are offering such freebies and poll sops solely intended to gain the attention of the electorate. The target is usually the women, unemployed, poor, and the SCs/STs apart from the other strata of the society. The country will see an interesting assembly poll to Maharashtra and Jharkhand in the coming days. As is their wont, the political parties are out with their list of goodies. Let’s look at how Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Bharatiya Janata Party are faring on this front in Jharkhand. JMM and BJP are promising plenty of cash and looking to corner Adivasi vote, but differently. Both INDIA and NDA blocs are promising to spray cash around. Expectedly so.
- BJP’s manifesto pledges to fill up 2.87L vacant posts in govt, provide financial assistance of Rs.2000 to graduate and post-graduate students for up to two years and launch a Gogo-Didi scheme promising Rs.2100 per month assistance to women. The governing JMM-Congress alliance, meanwhile, has launched the Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana, ensuring women aged 15-20 get Rs.1000 per month which will be enhanced to Rs.2500 per month. The key battle here is for the tribal vote. Tribals account for 26.2% of Jharkhand’s population with 28 reserved ST seats out of the total assembly strength of 81. BJP has promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code in Jharkhand but keep tribals out of its ambit.
PC: The Hindu
- Remember, JMM’s been pushing for a separate Sarna Code for the Adivasi communities. JMM’s pitch worked in Lok Sabha polls where the INDIA bloc won all five reserved ST seats in the state. BJP’s tack has always been to integrate tribals into the Hindu fold. The Sarna code directly challenges this by solidifying a separate tribal religious identity. Of course, the BJP has been raising the perennial issue of illegal Bangladeshi migration into Jharkhand, buoyed by a PIL in Jharkhand HC. The petition claims illegal migrants residing in the Santhal Parganas region. BJP says only it can safeguard Jharkhand’s tribals from being overwhelmed by such migration. The battle of attrition has begun. The coming days will reveal which party will be blessed by the people.
