The Congress aims at wresting power in Gujarat from BJP which has been ruling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home-state since 1998.
The Congress on Saturday released its manifesto for upcoming Gujarat assembly elections and made a slew of promises to the public, such as bringing 10 lakh government and semi-government jobs, free electricity, affordable cooking gas, and free healthcare.
Gujarat will vote for its new government in two phases on December 1 and 5. Votes will be counted on December 8. The Congress and the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are trying hard to embarrass the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat, which has been in power in the state since 1998.
Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress's senior observer for Gujarat polls Ashok Gehlot released the manifesto at the state party headquarters in Ahmedabad in the presence of other party leaders such as Raghu Sharma, Jagdish Thakor, and Pawan Khera.
Some of the key promises in the Congress manifesto are:
The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat for over two decades.
The Congress's Manifesto Committee Chairman Dipak Babaria said the party interacted with nearly 65 lakh people before preparing this poll document.
"As suggested by party leader Rahul Gandhi, we will form a commission for the implementation of our manifesto and turn it into a government document after the Congress forms a government in the state. We will maintain the sanctity of our manifesto," Gehlot said after unveiling it, adding that the New Pension Scheme will be discarded in Gujarat and the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) will be implemented in its place if the party is voted to power.
In the manifesto, the Congress also promised scholarships of up to Rs 20,000 to the needy students and a reduction of 25 per cent in the fees presently charged by schools and colleges.
Babaria said, "Congress will give a pension of Rs 2,000 to divyangs, widows, senior citizens and needy women. Salaried class as well as other professionals covered under Income Tax will be exempted from paying professional tax."
The Congress will waive loan of up to Rs 3 lakh of all fishermen and Rs 1,000 crore will be allotted for the upkeep of cow and cattle shelters, said Babaria, adding that with a view to end corruption and irregularities in government recruitments in the state, the Congress will bring a special act and set up fast track courts to deal with such cases.
The Congress has also promised to rename the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to Sardar Patel Stadium, according to NDTV.
The traditional bipolar contest between the Congress and the BJP has turned into a triangular contest this time with the entry of Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP. Retaining Gujarat is an issue of prestige for the BJP as Gujarat is the home-state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat that Modi laid the groundwork to become BJP's prime ministerial face. He ruled Gujarat during 2001-14.
Similar to the Congress party, the AAP has also promised to implement the 'Delhi Model' in Gujarat. Free water supply to farmers and Rs 3,000 to the unemployed youth till they get jobs are also among AAP’s electoral promises.
(With PTI inputs)