The BJP’s manifesto for the Gujarat Assembly elections is a fine balancing act between the party’s tried and tested Hindutva plank, sops for the poor and backward and the development agenda that it had promised on its advent to power at the Centre eight years ago. The elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and the results will be declared on December 8. The manifesto has vowed total implementation of the Uniform Civil Code and pledged to set up an anti-radicalisation cell to pre-empt potential threats from terror groups in a nod to its right-wing following.
However, taking a leaf out of the Aam Aadmi Party playbook, it has promised free education for girls from KG to PG, a doubling of the medical insurance cover from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, free two-wheelers for meritorious college going girls and free bus travel for women senior citizens. This seems surprisingly similar to the ‘revadi’ (freebie) culture that the BJP, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has come down so hard on. The line between welfarism and freebies is indeed wafer-thin. Keeping its middle class and aspirational votebank in mind, the party proposed the launch of a Gujarat Olympics Mission that will envisage creation of world class sports infrastructure with the aim of hosting the 2036 Olympics in the state. The manifesto also assures creation of 20 lakh jobs in Gujarat, and promises Rs 10, 000 crore for agricultural infrastructure and Rs 25,000 crore for irrigation facilities.
With an eye on hardcore Hindu voters, the saffron party pledged a law to curb damage to public property along the lines of Uttar Pradesh’s ‘bulldozer justice’. Hours after the manifesto release, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a campaign rally in Gujarat touted his state’s harsh and arbitrary action against rioters as a successful experiment in a clear signal to the party’s core constituency. Polarisation has been the template of politics in the western state and nobody has exploited it better than the BJP. The striking similarities between the manifestoes of the Congress, BJP and AAP on issues of education, medical facilities and jobs reveals that the divide between political parties on sops is very narrow indeed. Where the difference lies is in the ability to exploit public sentiment and persuade voters to believe in promises which, more often than not, remain unfulfilled. Once again it is over to ‘we the people’.
Immunisation drive takes a hit
The measles outbreak among children in Maharashtra that led to over a dozen fatalities has now spread to other states, most notably Kerala. That this highly infectious disease, which has been well under control given the robust nature of India’s immunisation programme, has reared its head again is a telling commentary on how much two years of the Covid pandemic has affected health systems across the country. Most medical experts are attributing the sudden rise in measles cases to a laxity in vaccination drives due to the preoccupation of health professionals with Covid-related cases. While measles is generally curable, in severe cases it can turn into pneumonia, bronchitis and severe chest infection.
In Kerala’s Mallapuram district which has recorded a severe rise in measles cases, the vaccination rate for measles–rubella is below 50%. The Kerala model is often touted as the best example for healthcare in India but it lies badly exposed. There is now a mad scramble to administer vaccinations to the uncovered child population as soon as possible, but this totally preventable health emergency could have been easily tackled with a little more planning and foresight.
India’s immunisation programme has long been admired as immersive and thorough in its coverage. Vaccine hesitancy which is common among certain communities and classes in India used to be tackled by a well-honed system of health workers using persuasion and incentives to ensure almost cent per cent immunisation for common diseases. India’s vast network of community health workers such as ASHAs and Anganwadi workers have contributed immensely, as is evident in the spectacular success of the polio immunisation drive. The Covid lockdown and the subsequent distress led to a sharp disruption in the universal immunisation programme. It is time to resume it with renewed vigour and ensure that vaccine coverage reaches the last child in the line.
