The Congress enjoyed an early lead in the manifesto race, releasing its “Bharti Vidhan” (manifesto) 18 days before the BJP and SP.
A few hours before the end of campaigning for the first phase of the Assembly election on Tuesday, both parties announced their manifestos, “Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra” and “Samajwadi Vachan Patra.”
The parties are putting up every effort to acquire votes for their vote banks, with the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh polls set to begin in less than a day.   
While the Indian National Congress’ “Bharti Vidhan” manifesto focuses primarily on youth, the Bhartiya Janta Party and the Samajwadi Party have placed a strong emphasis on the welfare of farmers. Women voters, on the other hand, have not been overlooked by any of the parties, and their needs have been prioritized. 
The manifestos’ most notable takeaway and similarities are the enormous lists of ‘freebies’ for voters, including free electricity for farmers, work opportunities, self-employment prospects, and women’s welfare. 
“Hum ghoshna-Patra Nahi Sankalp-Patra jaari kar rahe hai,” said current home minister Amit Shah at the launch of the Saffron party’s manifesto. CM Shah stressed that, unlike other parties, his is taking an oath to make Uttar Pradesh a better state, rather than making unrealistic promises.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party’s President Akhilesh Yadav said during the official launch of his manifesto that his party fulfilled the promises made in 2012 and did a number of things that were not listed in the manifesto.   
According to critics, BJP drew most of its points from the INC and SP manifestos. Whether it is providing many freebies or addressing agricultural concerns, aside from that, the party focused on the issues of “Love Jihad” while supporting the majority faith.
On the other hand, Congress made no mention of religion during its campaign; instead, its key emphasis was on Uttar Pradesh’s youth. “We don’t spread hatred; we unite people, and we want to create a new Uttar Pradesh with the strength of youth,” Rahul Gandhi remarked.    
The key points of Indian National Congress’ “Bharti Vidhan” (manifesto):
- 20 lakh jobs for the state youth, including 1.5 lakh jobs in primary education and 1 lakh in the police department.
- An exam calendar to help job aspirants with timely recruitment.
- Vacant posts, including that of Sanskrit teacher, Urdu teacher, Anganwadi, Asha workers, will be filled.
- Fees for all examination forms will be waived, and bus-train travel will be free.
- Expansion of education budget and all colleges and universities will be upgraded.
- Anti-drug addiction center in Lucknow.
- 8 lakh jobs for women.
- Timely pre/post matric scholarship for Dalit, SC, ST, OBC, EWS students.
- The amount of scholarship will also be raised.
- Rs 5 thousand crore seed startup fund.
- Launch of a single-window scholarship portal.
Key points of Bhartiya Janta Part’ “Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra” (manifesto):
- Free public transport for women above the age of 60
- Pension for old people will be increased to Rs 1,500 per month
- Recruitment of 6,000 doctors and 10,000 paramedic experts.
- 10 years punishment and 1 lakh fine for accused of ‘Love Jihad.’
- Lata Mangeshkar performing arts academy will be set up in the state to provide training in cultural arts.
- Double the amount of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) scheme for landless farmers.
- Free electricity for farmers
- Two unrestrained cylinders every year to the consumers at the festival of Holi and Diwali under the Ujjwala Yojna.
- Free coaching to female students preparing for UPSC and PSC.
- Free scooters to girls under the Rani Laxmibai Yojana.
- 2 crore tablets and smartphones under the Swami Vivekanand Yuva Shashaktikaran Yojana.
The key points of Samajwadi Party’s “Samajwadi Vachan Patra” (manifesto):
- Free laptop to every 12th pass student and a free tablet to every 10th pass student
- 33 % reservation in government jobs for women.
- 10 lakh jobs for the youth in the first cabinet meeting.
- 1 crore jobs in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector and a further 22 lakh in the IT sector.
- MSP on every crop with the expansion of the Kisan bazaar network.
- Free from debt incurred by taking loans by 2025.
- Free electricity interest-free loans will be given to all farmers for irrigation.
- BPL families will be given two gas cylinders free of cost.
- The health budget will be increased by three times from the current level.
Published By: Khushboo Mehta
Edited By: Kritika Kashyap
