AAP releases manifesto for Delhi polls

NEW DELHI:The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released a 28-point poll manifesto on Tuesday, promising home delivery of ration, 24-hour shopping malls in the national capital and ₹1 crore compensation to relatives of sanitation workers who died while on duty.

The manifesto was launched by AAP national coordinator and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha member and Delhi election in-charge Sanjay Singh and Cabinet minister Gopal Rai.

Seventy constituencies in Delhi will go to polls on Saturday. The last day of campaigning is Thursday, and election results are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

The manifesto was prepared based on suggestions received during booth campaigns, town hall meetings, mohalla sabhas and door-to-door meetings. Last month, the party formed a three-member committee to prepare the manifesto, headed by senior AAP leader and candidate from Kalkaji constituency Atishi, Delhi Dialogue Commission vice-chairwoman Jasmine Shah and party spokesperson Ajoy Kumar.

The AAP focuses on the work done by the state government in the last five years, especially in areas like education, health, water and electricity.

“Over the last five years, our government has provided assistance to the people of Delhi in many areas. Our vision is to take Delhi to the next level in the next five years. We want the people of Delhi and the entire country to be proud of the city. With this in mind, we have prepared this manifesto. We cannot do this alone, but we need the support of Delhi’s 2 billion people and the central government. There is something for everyone in this manifesto,” Kejriwal said at the manifesto launch.

On January 19, Kejriwal issued a 10-point guarantee card, which included reducing pollution by one-third, ensuring uninterrupted supply of drinking water, building houses for slum dwellers and extending free travel, which until then was exclusively for women, to students. He also assured that the existing plans of the state government would continue.

The party has promised to continue working with the central government to pass the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, which was passed by the assembly in 2015 but is pending with the lieutenant governor, and the Delhi Swaraj Bill. The party has said it will also continue its efforts to regularize illegal colonies. These were key parts of its 2015 manifesto.

The AAP also promised to conduct classes in spoken English, extend the Delhi Metro network to 500 km and develop the Yamuna riverfront. For businesses and traders, the party promised an amnesty scheme for pending value-added tax (VAT) cases, modernisation of markets and industrial estates and protection from sealing.

The manifesto also promised to recognize Bhojpuri and seek to include it in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

“The vision of AAP is to enable every common man to live with dignity and prosperity… This is the vision and we appeal to the voters of Delhi to vote for this dream that we have for Delhi,” Sisodia said. Delhi is facing a three-cornered fight between AAP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress. The BJP and Congress have already released their manifestos and promised clean air and free electricity to 300 units respectively.

“The AAP was at the forefront of these elections. No other political party has made education and health an election issue. This is forcing national parties to make similar statements,” said Subrata Mukherjee, a New Delhi-based political analyst.