Congress, which is expected to lose the general election that is scheduled to begin on 7 April, promised to create 100m jobs and lift 800 million people into the middle class. The Congress party has been hit by a series of corruption scandals, rising prices and flagging growth.Congress promises $1tn spending spree on jobs and infrastructure but opposition Hindu nationalist BJP senses victory. Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the countrys most famous political dynasty, launched the ruling Congress partys manifesto with a pledge to create millions of jobs for the poor, increase health spending and revive the emerging powers faltering economy. Meanwhile, the president of the countrys main opposition party predicted a landslide victory for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), enabling it to implement a wide-ranging programme of economic reforms. A series of polls have put the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, well ahead of the Congress party. Though Indian elections are notoriously hard to predict, analysts say the opposition may win up to 200 seats with the Congress reduced to half that number, the partys lowest total ever. Congress leaders have dismissed the polls as misleading and partisan. Singh, the BJP president, said a momentum of support [for the BJP] is increasing day by day due to the failure of the Congress-led … government on every front and the tremendous popularity of Narendra Modi. So far, Modi appears to have the edge in the campaign and has dominated media coverage. Some of the most powerful industrialists in India, say Modi is an honest and decisive administrator who has introduced policies that have encouraged development in his state and could be reproduced elsewhere if he were prime minister. The BJP would set a target of 10% year-on-year GDP growth in India, Singh said, and increase investment in infrastructure, manufacturing and skill development programmes to create tens of millions of jobs while encouraging a culture of entrepreneurship. He also said a BJP government would work to gradually minimise subsidies for basics such as diesel and cooking gas, a sensitive measure domestically as it will mean higher prices for essentials for many poor people. Singh dismissed the challenge from the newly formed Aam Admi party (AAP), which emerged from a largely spontaneous anti-corruption movement that swept India three years ago and won sufficient seats in a recent state election to briefly take power in Delhi. We have never taken seriously the AAP, he said. theguardian/world/2014/mar/26/india-election-parties-pledge-jobs
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 02:07:20 +0000
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