Speaking at a book launch in 2020, Union home minister Amit Shah credited the Narendra Modi government for giving sanctity to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s election manifesto. He said that fulfilling almost 90% of the promises sent out a message that it means business when it comes to fulfilling promises. Shah called the manifesto a roadmap for governance.

“The manifesto was only considered a piece of paper… we have covered 90% of what was promised,” he said. Underlining the government’s claim of being decisive, he said the government did not dither on taking a tough stand even on issues that previous governments were scared to take up such as granting citizenship to refugees, pushing for a resolution of the Ramjanmabhoomi issue, or outlawing triple talaq.

The party, which is aiming for a third term with a target of over 400 Lok Sabha seats, is going to people with the message of ‘Jo Kahan, Woh Kiya’. It has underscored how it has ticked major promises listed in the election manifesto such as from the long-pending ideological demands like the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

BJP leaders assert the government has also delivered on targeted interventions for various groups including women, youth, and MSMEs, stuck to its muscular foreign policy and hardline internal security strategy. All of which was mentioned in the election manifesto.

Now all eyes are on what will make it to the party’s election manifesto scheduled to be released ahead of the 2024 polls beginning April 19.

A 27-member committee headed by Union minister Rajnath Singh has met in the Capital twice to draft the document which will spell out the party’s agenda for four groups referred to as four castes by Modi—women, youth, farmers, and the poor.

Since these groups have also been identified as crucial vote banks, BJP leaders indicate that schemes and plans for their economic and social empowerment will be the mainstay of the manifesto.

Expected are schemes and programmes to ensure increased participation of women in the economy, sports, politics, defence, etc. The use of technology, Artificial Intelligence for empowering farmers, and more incentives for entrepreneurs are also expected.

BJP leaders are also banking on schemes that will give a fillip to production, manufacturing, and fuel economy, as this would also take the sting out of the opposition’s charge against the government that it failed to provide jobs. The opposition targets the government for reneging on its promise of providing 20 million jobs annually and for exacerbating unemployment through policies of disinvestment.

The manifesto is also expected to focus on reforms in various sectors—from the economy to the judiciary, banking sector, and police services.