The BJP on Tuesday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly polls on October 21.
Releasing the document in Bandra’s Rangasharda Auditorium, BJP working president J.P. Nadda and State unit president Chandrakant Patil said the party had fulfilled all promises made in the previous manifesto and the next one would have at its core the promise to make Maharashtra drought-free.
Calling it a 16-point ‘Sankalp Patra (commitment paper)’, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government was committed to building a comprehensive water grid across the State’s parched areas to ensure flowing rainwater — which is not the State’s and not even Karnataka’s share — was collected and diverted to the drought-affected areas of Vidarbha and Marathwada. This would include a diversion of over 167 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) water from the Konkan region, which otherwise flowed into the sea.
Mr. Nadda said the three main pillars of the manifesto were drought, water and employment. Five years ago, Maharashtra was a corrupt and tainted State but under Mr. Fadnavis’ leadership had altered its existing image and political culture. “After a long time, Maharashtra got a full-term Chief Minister and the State is now corruption free. Under his leadership, we are releasing a ‘well-studied’ document as a road map for the future,” he stated.
The manifesto was committed to the party’s motto of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’ and included 16 major points for development of the State. The other major points included connecting 11 dams through the Marathwada Water Grid, making agricultural power solar-based, providing jobs for one crore youth, social security for labour, putting in investments of ₹5,00,000 crore, constructing 30,000 kilometres of rural roads and rehabilitating the families of the martyred soldiers. “I am confident that after this manifesto is fully implemented, the State will become the number one,” said Mr. Nadda.
