Why election manifestos are losing their value and importance in India?

By Deepak Parvatiyar

March 11, 2015

Much ruckus is being made on the coming together of the two diametrically opposite parties, the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir. Inarguably they are two uncomfortable allies who in any given circumstances are considered ideologically misfit to join hands lest rule together.

The initial jerks in the coalition have already surfaced after the J&K PDP’s mentor and new state chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed arbitrarily decided to release hard-line Kashmiri separatist Masarat Alam from detention, recently. This has put the BJP in the dock and it now cries foul over not being consulted on the issue. The Opposition has even forced adjournments in both the houses of Parliament over the issue demanding an explanation from the BJP-led Union Government. The BJP is piqued also because of being a part of the ruling alliance in J&K.

The whole issue has a significant dimension – the dilution of political ideology for the sake of governance. Consider that the BJP refrained from its stated stand of abrogation of Article 370 that provides special status to Jammu & Kashmir, and even soft-pedalled the J&K PDP’s known Pakistan fixation. Why so?

This leads to the inherent dichotomy in the stand of a political party vis a vis its ambition to govern. In the process, such largely opportunistic alliances also question the very sanctity of the election manifesto considered a blueprint for governance of a political party if voted to power.
The Jammu & Kashmir events though, have also brought yet another issue of concern to the forefront – The BJP’s sincerity over not just the abrogation of Article 370, but also other contentious issues such as Uniform Civil Code and Ram Mandir.

Consider the party sidelined them whenever it was in government in the past for the sake of the ‘coalition dharma’. Yet, these issues resurfaced whenever it was out of power — The issue of abrogation of Article 370 figured prominently in the election manifestos of the BJP in 1998, 2009 and 2014 (when the party was not in power). But they did not figure in its manifestos in 1999 and 2004.

Inarguably the party succumbed to the pressure of its allies to allow these contentious issues to be excluded from its manifesto and the list of common minimum programme for governance in 1999 and 2004 when it had led the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.

Similarly the Lotus had also sidetracked another core issue, the Uniform Civil Code, in 1999 as well as in 2004; its 1999 manifesto had no mention of the Ram Temple either and the party had no compunction in significantly climbing down from its stated position of constructing Ram Temple in Ayodhya in 2004 too when it led the ruling coalition. Its manifesto in 2004 clearly stated: ‘The NDA believes that an early and amicable resolution of the Ayodhya issue will strengthen national integration. We continue to hold that the judiciary’s verdict in this matter should be accepted by all.”

The question thus arises is that if the saffron brigade felt so strongly about these issues, then why couldn’t it sacrifice power in pursuit of such goals? In any case, because of the compulsions of coalition politics, it could in no case accomplish such goals even by annexing power and this was proved! Perhaps the only reason for keeping these issues at bay was the opportunity to prevent any Congress-led government at the Centre, at any cost!

Core issues have become election-time gimmicks

Yet, that these core issues return as major election planks whenever the BJP is not in power does prove that they have more or less become mere election-time gimmicks and a fait accompli. This argument seemingly holds good considering that unlike in the past, even as the BJP got a majority on its own in the last general elections with these contentious issues very much part of the party’s election manifesto, they cannot be considered more than lip service. Consider how the BJP dumped its manifesto commitment of abrogating Article 370 in favour of forming a coalition government with the J&K PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There are no true friends in politics. We are all sharks circling, and waiting, for traces of blood to appear in the water.” Late British Parliamentarian Alan Clark had once famously said.

This explains the increasing redundancy of election manifestos. Many may argue that this also explains why the BJP had no compunction in joining hands with the fundamentally opposite J&K PDP or why the BJP could allow former separatist leader and Chairman of the People’s Conference Sajjad Lone, a minister from its quota in the state.

However, to be fair to the BJP, the party at least seemed honest by not releasing election manifestos for Jammu and Kashmir as well as Delhi (where the manifesto was reportedly stuck due to differences in the party over the issue of full statehood for Delhi. Incidentally the issue of full statehood to Delhi was a part of the BJP’s election manifesto in 1999 but was dropped from its later manifestos).

Instead it came out with its Vision documents for both the states. Obviously a Vision document could just be a compilation of “ideas” for good governance and could not be equated with an election manifesto which is “a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views” of a political party before the election. But how do they really matter?

Remember that it was way back in 1970 that late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had coined the term “Garibi Hatao” (Eradicate Poverty) and in 1971, the Congress election manifesto had promised a clear-cut commitment to eradicate poverty. Yet, as a United Nations report of 2015 pointed out, about 30 crore of the 125 crore people still live in extreme poverty in the country!

Obviously what is required are realistic goals in poll manifestos instead of pretensions and ideological compunctions!