Political parties' manifestos acknowledge youth power

Laptops to students, jobs, unemployment allowance line up as poll-time promises

It’s no more just about increased subsidy to farmers or pension to the old. Political parties seem to have caught up with the new age, if their election manifestos in Uttar Pradesh are any indication. The youth and their aspirations figure more visibly this time in their pre-poll promises to the electorate of the state, which goes to polls in seven phases spread over next month and March.

The parties have highlighted their assurances to the youth, ranging from giving laptops/tablets to secondary/senior secondary students to unemployment allowance to generating millions of jobs over the next five years -- if voted to power. Their manifestos underscore the development agenda, uncharacteristically relegating to the background their jaded ideologies and stock rhetoric. So far, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) have released their manifestos, while the Congress has launched a ‘Vision Document’ that contains broad contours of its poll promises. As for the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), it is the party’s tradition to not releases a formal poll manifesto. This time, though, it has issued an appeal to the electorate to vote for it.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP, acknowledging the power of the youth in tilting election results, seems to have resorted to realpolitik -- and has promised giving tablets and laptops to students passing standard X and XII respectively. This, from a party that has always been perceived as anti-English and anti-computers, courtesy some of its earlier statements as well.

As for the BJP, its manifesto, too, makes a similar promise about tablets/laptops. The party has promised to generate 10 million jobs and give Rs 18,000 as annual unemployment allowance per person. The SP’s promised amount on this is Rs 12,000. The Congress’s Vision Document talks about boosting the state growth rate to 9-10 per cent and creating 2 million employment opportunities. Its ‘Nav Uttar Pradesh 2020’ document also speaks about a revival of the industry by promoting traditional clusters and creating new ones.

Over 40 clusters, the party says, will be created via infusion of new technology for creating new jobs. The state goes to polls on February 8, 11, 15, 19, 23, 28 and March 3.