A day before Karnataka goes to the polls, all Congress candidates signed a "solemn pledge" on Tuesday to deliver on the "five guarantees" promised by the party to the people of the state if voted to power.
The Congress party, its president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi on their Twitter accounts shared the pledge signed by all the 223 candidates that the five guarantees -- Yuva Nidhi, Anna Bhagya, Gruha Jyothi, Uchita Prayana and Gruha Lakshmi -- will be implemented once the party comes to power.
"Once elected as your MLA, I will deliver on the 5 Congress guarantees for the people of Karnataka. I will dedicate myself to developing our constituency. Karnataka's interests will be my priority. I will defend Kannada's pride and culture with all my might. I pledge to fight corruption, maintain transparency and work towards a progressive Karnataka," the pledge signed by the Congress candidates read.
Sharing the pledge on Twitter, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "All our Karnataka Congress candidates have made a solemn promise to deliver on the 5 guarantees for the people of Karnataka."
"They have pledged to fight corruption and work towards a progressive Karnataka," Kharge said.
Gandhi also shared the pledge signed by all the candidates, saying, "Congress' 5 Guarantees 'Pratigne' will relieve people of Karnataka from the pain BJP’s 40 per cent Commission Sarkara has inflicted on them."
While the 'Uchita Prayana' scheme proposes free travel for women throughout the state in regular government-run KSRTC/ BMTC buses, under the 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme, each woman head of the family will receive Rs 2,000 monthly assistance.
Gruha Jyothi promises 200 units of free electricity a month to all households. Under 'Anna Bhagya', every person in a BPL (below the poverty line) family will receive 10 kg of food grains, which can be rice or millet including Ragi and Jowar every month.
Under the "Yuva Nidhi", Rs 3,000/month will be provided to all unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 a month for all unemployed diploma graduates (both in the age group of 18 to 25) for two years.
The Congress has 223 candidates in the electoral fray, and on one seat it has extended support to Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.
The elections for the 224-member Karnataka assembly will be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.