DNA Edit: Similar manifestos - Point of difference is BJP’s approach to Article 35(A)

The BJP’s election manifesto 2019, released this week, is not much different from its 2014 version. On such seminal issues like the construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya, even the wordings of the two manifestos are similar.

The promise to “explore all facilities” to construct the temple may sound like a repetition, raising the charge of being rhetorical about a subject which has been a traditional vote catcher for the party. As can be expected, an election manifesto extols the party in no uncertain terms, and BJP’s is no different.

Party chief Amit Shah said that under PM Modi’s rule, India had become a superpower. The BJP said it was making 75 pledges in its manifesto to be fulfilled by 2022, when India will celebrate 75 years of Independence. These include construction of the Ram Mandir, and passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill and Uniform Civil Code, the latter being on the party’s agenda since its earlier Jan Sangh days.

As soon as the manifesto was released, it began trending on social media, with many users pointing out the similarities. Some users also mentioned BJP’s unfulfilled poll promises from 2014 had found mention in the 2019 manifesto, showing how perceptive voters have become now. Coming just days after the Congress’s poll pledge, it would be fair to say that the Opposition has cast a shadow on the ruling party.

The BJP, in response to Rahul Gandhi’s minimum income guarantee scheme, promised to spend Rs 25 lakh crore in the next five years for the development of rural areas. This included a Rs 6,000 yearly income support to farmers and pension to small and marginal farmers above 60. The trigger for this largesse is undoubtedly the farm sector distress, which is causing some worry in the party as the country goes to vote.

Nevertheless, observers have noticed certain key omissions from the poll pledge. This includes no reference to top-of-the-mind issues like privacy, digital rights, sedition, cyber security, mass surveillance, fake news and misinformation.

If this manifesto differs in emphasis from the last one, it could be laid down at the doorstep of Article 35 (A), which the party wants removed in Jammu and Kashmir. This special article guarantees citizenship rights in the state, and in the course of PM Modi’s tenure, there was serious discussions in the government to scrap it, but given the complexities, was dropped at the last minute.

The hard reality is that removing Article 370 is way too complex and fraught with implications for anyone to tinker with it. In its absence, removing Article 35(A) is certainly a good option for the BJP. Again, like the Congress poll pledge last week, the ruling party has dedicated an entire section on what it plans to do for women. Women now constitute roughly 48 per cent of India’s 900 million voters, a fact well emphasised in the growing number of pages devoted to women development in the two manifestos.