India’s Congress pledges to step up affirmative action if voted back to power
Congress releases election manifesto at AICC HQ
Photo Credit -Sipra Das /New Delhi,5th April 2024
The seven-phase election starts on April 19, with vote counting on June 4.
Congress, which had ruled India for more than 50 years with centre-left policies, has struggled in the past decade to compete with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that counts the country’s Hindu majority as its main vote base.
“However, caste discrimination is still a reality.”Kharge listed some of the key pledges with only a feeble response from party workers at a press conference, leading him to comment: “No claps, nothing!”
Many analysts say morale is low in Congress because of the BJP’s dominance of the country’s politics. An opinion poll released on Wednesday predicted Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition could win 399 of the 543 seats in the lower house of parliament while the BJP alone is projected to win 342.
Congress could fall to 38 seats, a record low, it said.
Addressing a rally, BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda accused Congress of trying to divide communities in the name of caste and religion, adding that Modi instead worked on taking everyone along for the development of all.
More help for so-called backward castes and the poor irrespective of caste were among Congress pledges in its election manifesto, including assured jobs for the young, guaranteed prices for farm produce and higher health insurance payouts.
“Congress has been the most vocal and active champion of the progress of the backward and oppressed classes and castes over the last seven decades,” said the manifesto released by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, who himself is from one of India’s most backward castes.
News Mania Desk /Photo Credit -Sipra Das (National Consulting Photo Editor)
05th April 2024 , New Delhi
