In an effort to allay major voter fears ahead of next week’s elections, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pledged on Sunday to increase infrastructure, generate jobs, and extend welfare programs if it wins a third term.
Starting on April 19, there will be seven phases to the general election, which ends on June 1. Results are anticipated on June 4th, when votes are scheduled to be counted.
Given his 10-year record of robust economic growth, infrastructure projects, social transfers, and strident Hindu nationalism, Modi, 73, is favored to win a record-tying third term.
Modi’s largest challenge will be to handle the challenges of unemployment, inflation, and rural suffering in the world’s most populous country, even with its robust economy, according to surveys.
“We prioritize life dignity and quality, and we also prioritize job creation through investment,” Modi declared following the unveiling of the “Modi’s Guarantee” manifesto at the party’s capital headquarters.
In an effort to address unhappiness over rising unemployment rates amid robust economic growth, Modi said the manifesto is focused on creating jobs in industries like infrastructure, aviation, railroads, electric vehicles, green energy, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, among others.
Prominent federal ministers who were seated in the audience and wore stoles emblazoned with the BJP’s lotus emblem were among the BJP members who cheered as he said, “India’s youth will not have even imagined the number of opportunities that will come their way.”
Give welfare priority
Along with expanding social programs, Modi also pledged to follow through on a 2016 subsidised cooking gas cylinder program by pushing for piped cooking gas connections in every home and enrolling all Indians over 70 in the free health insurance scheme.
Additional commitments include increasing the credit ceiling for small and microloans to non-farming borrowers, providing free housing for an additional 30 million impoverished people, and extending the free grain program for 800 million Indians until 2029. According to the manifesto, the BJP government would keep concentrating on achieving strong economic growth through low inflation and prudent budgetary management.
“Modi’s mission is to fulfill the aspirations of the 1.4 billion people in this country,” Modi declared. “I am presenting my manifesto to the public in an effort to win their blessings. Please give us strength so that we can carry out our manifesto and guarantee a developed India.
According to a survey conducted last week by Lokniti-CSDS among 10,000 voters in 19 of India’s 28 states, rising costs ranked second, with 27% of respondents citing unemployment as their top concern. The Hindu daily reported on the results.
The official statistics indicates that roughly 16 percent of urban youth in the 15-29 age group were unemployed in 2022–2023 due to inadequate skills and a lack of high-quality jobs. The unemployment rate increased to 5.4 percent in 2022–2023 from 4.9 percent in 2013–14, right before Modi stormed to power.
