Hyderabad: Despite being part of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena, the picture of star campaigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone missing from the alliance’s joint manifesto.
While the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance has called its manifesto ‘Super Six’, the YSR Congress has termed it ‘Navaratna Plus’.
The balance sheet of election manifestos released by the ruling YSR Congress and the Opposition combine comprising Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena and BJP in Andhra Pradesh makes a study of their ‘Navaratna Plus’ and ‘Super Six’ programmes respectively.
The YSR Congress had named its nine promises to the poor when it rode to power in AP in the 2019 Assembly elections as Navaratnas. Now, it is calling its renewed promises for the current elections as Navaratna Plus.
The TDP and Jana Sena were united in the joint manifesto released on the occasion, but the BJP apparently had differences with the preparation of the document. But nonetheless, the party deputed its state election committee co-convenor Shailendranath Singh, a former minister of Uttar Pradesh, to imply its support. Neither the state president of BJP Purandateswari nor any other leaders of the state committee were present.
More importantly, the cover page of the manifesto contained only the pictures of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Jana Sena counterpart and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan. There was no picture of any BJP leader.
It is rumoured that the differences between TDP and BJP were over the pro-Muslim stance of the former party. The YSR Congress, against which the TDP has trained its guns, was equally supportive of taking the side of Muslims. At the same time, Jagan was a dependable friend of the BJP in the present term of Parliament by supporting all Bills of the Central government. The development in AP gave a complex turn to the relationships between parties. It may be recalled that the picture of Modi was printed on the manifesto of the three parties when they contested in alliance in 2014.
In this context, the BJP has said it will rely on its own manifesto released at the national level without dissociating itself completely from its allies.
The three parties are fighting the elections by seat-sharing adjustments in 175 member Assemblies and 25 Parliamentary constituencies. The TDP is contesting in 144 Assembly and 17 Parliamentary constituencies, Jana Sena in 21 Assembly and two Parliament seats, and the BJP in 10 Assembly and six Parliament constituencies.
The YSR Congress has called its promises Navaratna Plus as they are an extension of the manifesto released for the 2019 elections with nine components. The quantum of benefit for beneficiaries will be scaled in some promises. The TDP and Jana Sena manifesto was labelled Super Six.
The Navaratnas are imposition of prohibition on alcohol in the state in a phased manner, hike in social security pensions, financial assistance up to Rs five lakh for construction of houses, interest-free loans to women groups, financial assistance to women sending their children to schools, construction of irrigation projects, health insurance up to Rs ten lakh, tuition fee reimbursement and investment support to farmers.
While continuing these programmes, the YSR Congress has now promised a hike in assistance to mothers for their children’s school education from Rs 13,000 to 15,000 per annum under ‘Amma Odi’ (mother’s lap) programme as part of the Navaratnas scheme. The maintenance amount for schools where the children study is also hiked from Rs 2,000 to 4,000. The TDP-Jana Sena has also promised Rs 15,000 for school children under its own ‘Talliki Vandanam’ (respect to mother) programme.
The social security pensions for various categories of people will be hiked from Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per month in two instalments starting January 2028. The TDP also promised Rs 4,000 but with retrospective effect from last month.
The investment support as promised by YSR Congress to farmers will be up from Rs 13,500 to Rs 16,000 per annum. The TDP said it will give Rs 20,000 per annum.
Women in the age group of 45 to 60 years, belonging to SCs, STs, BCs and minorities, who were getting Rs 75,000 in five years in four instalments of Rs 18,750 in the present government were promised Rs 1,500 per month in the age group of 19 to 59.
The TDP and Jana Sena also promised free bus ride for women, three free cooking gas cylinders per annum and Amaravati as the capital of the State.
In all, the Super Six on which TDP bet was Rs 20,000 to farmers, gas cylinders, free bus ride, Rs 1,500 per month to women of 19-59 age, Rs 15,000 for school-going children, unemployment allowance of Rs 3,00 per month and creation of twenty lakh jobs.
Outside Super Six, the TDP also promised several other measures like health insurance up to Rs 25 lakh for households and interest-free loans up to Rs 10 lakh for women groups.
The two parties indulged in mudslinging against each other during the release of manifestos. The TDP blamed the YSR Congress for ditching promises made in the last elections and the YSR Congress blamed the TDP for misleading people by making false claims.
Chief minister and YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy said he had fulfilled 99% of promises and stuck to his stand that would only make fresh promises if he was in a position to fulfil them. But, the TDP pointed an accusing finger at him that hardly anything was done to complete Polavaram irrigation after it lost power in 2019.
The TDP reminded that Jagan had promised to secure special status for AP in lieu of bifurcation of the erstwhile State if his party won all 25 Parliamentary constituencies. The party indeed won all seats made never raised the issue in Parliament while toeing the line BJP led NDA government.
The TDP said the State lost on investments because of the indifference of the government to create a conducive environment for industry.
On the other hand, Jagan has now promised completion of Bhogapuran airport, four ports under construction, ten shipping harbours, six fish landing centres, 17 medical colleges and completion of aqua, tribal and Urdu universities.
Reacting to the two manifestos, analyst Telakapallu Ravi said the document of the YSR Congress reflected the status quo position of the party as it was only an extension of the earlier one. But, it aimed to strengthen the welfare regime in the State.
The TDP projected a high-tech vision with an equal thrust on welfare to match the rival party.
Most importantly, Ravi said the manifesto of TDP reflected its lack of credibility because the BJP was not part of it. It could also not be called a manifesto of the NDA if its main partner was not part of it.
TDP president N.Chandrababu Naidu sacrificed his vision for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP will seek people’s mandate on the latter image. He thus sacrificed the state’s interests for Modi guarantees. The BJP showed itself as an untouchable, he added.
He took exception to Pawan Kalyan calling for crowdfunding of the Polavaram project while Modi assured Central funds since the project was given national status as part of the bifurcation law of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
Another analyst Pentapati Pulla Rao said the two manifestos competed with each other in extending freebies. There was not much difference between them.
