Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with Delhi Pradesh BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, Union MoS Harsh Malhotra releases the third part of BJP’s manifesto for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections in New Delhi on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Story so far: Storming to power after 26 years, BJP has managed to wrest away the national capital from Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday (February 8, 2025). Without naming a CM pick, BJP fielded sons of two ex-CMs – Parvesh Singh Sahib Verma and Harish Khurana, both of whom have triumphed. Mr. Verma has catapulted as top CM pick after defeating ex-CM Arvind Kejriwal by 4089 votes for the New Delhi seat.
Ahead of the polls, BJP unveiled its manifesto titled ‘Viksit Delhi Sankalp Patra’ in three parts. Wooing voters, the BJP made promises to women, students, educated youth, farmers, elderly, priests and service workers like auto-rickshaw drivers, washermen, and anganwadi workers. Areas of focus in its manifesto included agriculture, transport, pollution, jobs, healthcare, education and utilities like power, water and waste treatment. Taking a 180-degree turn, the BJP had announced a plethora of freebies to targetted group of people.
A re-look at its promises
Women
BJP has promised ₹2500 per month to women from poor families, a grant of ₹21,000 and six nutritional kits to every pregnant woman, gas cylinders at ₹500 and one free on Holi and Deepawali. It will also build 250 ‘pink’ toilets which will have vending machines for sanitary napkins and feeding rooms. Other promises include a women-only police battalion and paid maternity leave for up to six months for all domestic workers.
Students, education and jobs
For students, BJP has promised a one-time financial assistance of ₹15,000 for competitive exams, free kindergarten (KG) to post-graduation (PG) education to poor students and implementation of the New Education Policy 2020 in Delhi. For Scheduled Caste (SC) students, BJP announced the Ambedkar Stipend Scheme under which every student will receive a monthly stipend of ₹1000, free laptops will be given to meritorious students of Class 12 and 50% concession on fees of professional courses. It has also promised 50,000 government jobs.
Health, electricity and water
Relying on its Central schemes, the BJP has promised to implement Ayushman Bharat, offering free treatment up to ₹5 lakh. Focusing on taxi and auto-drivers, BJP has promised them life insurance upto ₹10 lakh, accident insurance up to ₹5 lakh and scholarships for their children. As it did in other poll-bound states, BJP has offered ‘free power’ to the poor via its solar energy scheme, the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. On the subject of water, BJP has promised to implement its Jal Jeevan Mission
Farmers and pollution
100% registration of all farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana with ₹9000 annual assistance and setting up of Atal Canteens offering meals at ₹5 are BJP’s poll promises related to agriculture. Tackling the polluted air and Yamuna waters, the BJP has promised to increase Delhi’s water treatment capacity to 1500 MCD, a flood-free Delhi with ₹700 crore investment, and to revitalise Yamuna with 100% effluent-treatment and zero industrial emissions into the river. For clean air, it has promised to halve Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI), reduce PM-2.5 and PM-10 levels by 50%, transition 50% vehicles to electric/hybrid and make Delhi a 100% e-bus city.
Other groups
Senior citizens between ages 60-70 have been promised a monthly pension of ₹2500 by the BJP while those above 70 years will get ₹3000 per month. While AAP was the first to offer an honarium of ₹18,000 per month to Hindu priests and Gurudwara granthis, BJP subsequently surpassed it promising ₹20,000 to them. The saffron party has also promised a ₹3000 monthly pension to small traders, welfare boards for auto, taxi drivers, washermen, gig economy workers and domestic workers and a mechanised dhobi ghat.
Housing and infrastructure
BJP has promised to grant full ownership rights to 1700 unauthorised colonies and freehold property status to all refugees’ colonies and promised to investigate scams that took place during AAP’s regime. Aided by the Centre, BJP has promised to attract $50 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Delhi, to effect a complete infrastructure overhaul and to make Chandni Chowk Delhi’s first model marketplace.
Delhi voted on February 5 and witnessed a voter turnout of 60.54%. Over 94.5 lakh citizens cast their votes in the high-stakes AAP Vs BJP fight.
Published – February 08, 2025 05:51 pm IST