Election manifestos are complicated exercises for political parties. Put in too much effort, too many details and too much jargon and they’ll probably be ignored by the media looking for bite-sized takeaways. But if you mess them up or fail to put them out in time, people might sit up and take notice.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have already put out their election documents, while the Bharatiya Janata Party thinks it would be useful to publish theirs after a few voters have already gone to the polls. But there’s a world beyond those three.
Great Expectations
Like anything else that features politicians making promises, election manifestos can include lots of ambitious items that would be pretty hard to translate into reality. The Election Commission of India earlier this year tried to address this problem by insisting that audacious promises made by parties need to be explained, both in terms of the rationale as well as how they will be achieved.
Not all parties got the memo, though. Here is the Communist Party of India’s grandiose manifesto:
- Abolish illiteracy in five years.
- Give up American concept based on "clash of civilisations" theory.
- Foil bid to impose monolithic order.
Commitment to the Cause: Part 1
The drafters of manifestos often use the documents as a way of sending a message to the heads of their own party, which can occasionally lead to some rather flowery language. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s sycophancy is well known, and it shows up in all its glory at the very start of the party’s manifesto:
“The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pays its grateful and deep obeisance to Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R., a leader non-pareil of the Tamil people, a great soul whose memory reigns eternal long after his demise, eighth in the line of great immortal and munificent leaders, who resides to this day in the hearts of the poor, the very embodiment of humanism, a shining diamond amongst humans, the apotheoses of golden hearted generosity.”
Commitment to the Cause: Part 2
Other parties often use the manifestos to reiterate policies that are central to their existence – even if they might not exactly be of interest to the wider public. Take the All India Forward Bloc. This left-wing party was founded as an offshoot of the Congress by Subhash Chandra Bose in 1939, and has taken pains to ensure he is not forgotten. Here that means the following promises:
- Disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be re-enquired on the basis of Mukherjee Commission report.
- All the files of Indian Nation Army and Azad Hind Government will be declassified.
- Netaji Bhavans will be established at all state headquarters.
- Youngsters should be imbued with patriotism and special programme to make awareness about the true history of our nation.
National Stage
Because of the potential interest of the national media, manifestoes can occasionally be used as a means of getting some good press, as the out-of-luck Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam managed to do by both calling for the abolition of the death penalty, as well as supporting transgender rights. They can also be reflections of a politician’s desire to be influential across India.
Mamata Banerjee’s most significant contribution to foreign policy hasn’t exactly been positive – her demands ended up scuttling a crucial agreement between India and Bangladesh – but she still has a few choice words about how New Delhi would deal with the rest of the world if she was at the helm:
- Peaceful co-existence with all.
- Greater promotion of social, economic, technological and cultural ties.
- The World must be looked upon as one single family.
The DMK has a slightly more specific promise about how diplomacy might be carried out if it had a say in the government:
- The DMK will urge the Centre to appoint only Qualified Tamils as envoys to nations in which Tamils live in considerable number.
Grand Plans
Being a regional party doesn’t mean you only have to speak about local policies in your election material. That can mean endorsements of some rather expansive projects, like the Supreme Court-mandated “inter-linking of rivers” which has been embraced by a number of parties, or some that are even more ambitious.
- A North South East West Highway Corridor Project that extends from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Kohima to Dwarka, to be called the ‘Four Sisters’: Trinamool Congress.
- Increase the spending on education to at least 10 per cent of GDP (when it currently stands at around 3 per cent): Communist Party of India.
- Prohibition of corporate funding for political parties: Communist Party of India (Marxist).
- No policing in the peasants and workers movements: All India Forward Bloc.
- A corruption free and transparent procurement policy for all defence equipment through e-tendering and other transparent e-processes based on full integrity:- Trinamool Congress.
There’s plenty more to dig into, and many parties from across the country have still to publish their election manifestoes, but you’ll find below links to the set of parties that have made their documents easily available on the internet.
- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
- Communist Party of India (Marxist)
- All India Forward Bloc
- Jharkhand Vikas Morcha
- J&K People Democratic Party
- Telugu Desam Party
- Trinamool Congress
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The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have already put out their election documents, while the Bharatiya Janata Party thinks it would be useful to publish theirs after a few voters have already gone to the polls. But there’s a world beyond those three.
Great Expectations
Like anything else that features politicians making promises, election manifestos can include lots of ambitious items that would be pretty hard to translate into reality. The Election Commission of India earlier this year tried to address this problem by insisting that audacious promises made by parties need to be explained, both in terms of the rationale as well as how they will be achieved.
Not all parties got the memo, though. Here is the Communist Party of India’s grandiose manifesto:
- Abolish illiteracy in five years.
- Give up American concept based on "clash of civilisations" theory.
- Foil bid to impose monolithic order.
Commitment to the Cause: Part 1
The drafters of manifestos often use the documents as a way of sending a message to the heads of their own party, which can occasionally lead to some rather flowery language. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s sycophancy is well known, and it shows up in all its glory at the very start of the party’s manifesto:
“The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pays its grateful and deep obeisance to Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R., a leader non-pareil of the Tamil people, a great soul whose memory reigns eternal long after his demise, eighth in the line of great immortal and munificent leaders, who resides to this day in the hearts of the poor, the very embodiment of humanism, a shining diamond amongst humans, the apotheoses of golden hearted generosity.”
Commitment to the Cause: Part 2
Other parties often use the manifestos to reiterate policies that are central to their existence – even if they might not exactly be of interest to the wider public. Take the All India Forward Bloc. This left-wing party was founded as an offshoot of the Congress by Subhash Chandra Bose in 1939, and has taken pains to ensure he is not forgotten. Here that means the following promises:
- Disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be re-enquired on the basis of Mukherjee Commission report.
- All the files of Indian Nation Army and Azad Hind Government will be declassified.
- Netaji Bhavans will be established at all state headquarters.
- Youngsters should be imbued with patriotism and special programme to make awareness about the true history of our nation.
National Stage
Because of the potential interest of the national media, manifestoes can occasionally be used as a means of getting some good press, as the out-of-luck Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam managed to do by both calling for the abolition of the death penalty, as well as supporting transgender rights. They can also be reflections of a politician’s desire to be influential across India.
Mamata Banerjee’s most significant contribution to foreign policy hasn’t exactly been positive – her demands ended up scuttling a crucial agreement between India and Bangladesh – but she still has a few choice words about how New Delhi would deal with the rest of the world if she was at the helm:
- Peaceful co-existence with all.
- Greater promotion of social, economic, technological and cultural ties.
- The World must be looked upon as one single family.
The DMK has a slightly more specific promise about how diplomacy might be carried out if it had a say in the government:
- The DMK will urge the Centre to appoint only Qualified Tamils as envoys to nations in which Tamils live in considerable number.
Grand Plans
Being a regional party doesn’t mean you only have to speak about local policies in your election material. That can mean endorsements of some rather expansive projects, like the Supreme Court-mandated “inter-linking of rivers” which has been embraced by a number of parties, or some that are even more ambitious.
- A North South East West Highway Corridor Project that extends from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Kohima to Dwarka, to be called the ‘Four Sisters’: Trinamool Congress.
- Increase the spending on education to at least 10 per cent of GDP (when it currently stands at around 3 per cent): Communist Party of India.
- Prohibition of corporate funding for political parties: Communist Party of India (Marxist).
- No policing in the peasants and workers movements: All India Forward Bloc.
- A corruption free and transparent procurement policy for all defence equipment through e-tendering and other transparent e-processes based on full integrity:- Trinamool Congress.
There’s plenty more to dig into, and many parties from across the country have still to publish their election manifestoes, but you’ll find below links to the set of parties that have made their documents easily available on the internet.
- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
- Communist Party of India (Marxist)
- All India Forward Bloc
- Jharkhand Vikas Morcha
- J&K People Democratic Party
- Telugu Desam Party
- Trinamool Congress
