As the BJP enters Jharkhand polls, its victory in Haryana has not only lifted the morale of its cadre but also provided it with a winning template. The party is set to follow the same route when it comes to making promises to the electorate, a model it has honed from experience in the last couple of polls including the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
In Haryana, the BJP had promised Rs 2,100 as monthly financial assistance for women – Rs 100 more than what Congress promised. The party has vowed financial assistance of the same amount in Jharkhand as well. Giving out financial aid for women has much resonance with female voters, who run households, amidst the inflation. The Congress too, in recent times, successfully tried.
The BJP Jharkhand launched its five promises, last week, much ahead of the announcement of polls. Titled 'Gogo Didi Yojana', the financial assistance scheme for women promises to transfer Rs 2,100 to the bank account of every woman on the 11th of every month. This stands in direct contrast to the Soren government’s Rs 1,000 under the 'Maiya Yojna'. The BJP’s promise is expected to force the ruling alliance to revise its offering.
The BJP has already started getting forms filled out from women aspirants to build momentum in its favour, a technique employed by the Congress in previous polls.
The BJP is repeating its promise of providing LPG gas cylinders to all households at Rs. 500 and two free cylinders in a year, another sop for women. Even during previous assembly polls, the BJP had promised to create jobs, given its huge salience among the youth. In Jharkhand, the BJP had promised to create 5 lakh self-employment opportunities for the youth in the next 5 years, while assuring that recruitment will be done for 2.87 lakh vacant government posts.
“BJP will address the challenges of youth who are struggling to start their career. For this, we will give 'Yuva Sathi Allowance' of Rs 2,000 per month to every graduate and post-graduate youth for two years. This will help them meet their education and career expenses like books and coaching fees,” BJP state president Babulal Marandi had said.
Marandi, the state’s first CM and tribal leader, is also expected to be the BJP CM face in the state. Bjp is banking on him to sieze back the tribal vote bank. During the Lok Sabha polls, I.N.D.I.A alliance had won five seats, while the BJP-led NDA tally fell by three seats. It got nine seats out of 14.
A unique promise by the BJP in the state is to provide free sand for the construction of houses. The party has only made the five promises ahead of the assembly polls, as it would make 25 commitments to mark 25 years of the formation of Jharkhand besides making 150 announcements on the 150th birth anniversary of tribal hero Birsa Munda. These will be made in the next two phases.
While these promises revolve around financial and social commitments, the ideological push will come with the promise of implementing NRC to tide over the demographic imbalance in the state. The BJP alleges that the influx of “Bangladeshis migrants” had skewed the balance against the tribal majority state. The party had made similar promises in other states too, but stopped short of following up on it given the complexity of its implementation. If the issue gains traction, the election campaign in the state will get polarised.
