The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday released the manifesto for Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. The manifesto was jointly released by BJP chief Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Lauding the ruling government in the state, Amit Shah said the Raman Singh-led BJP government has changed the state in the past 15 years and has been successful in containing Naxalism. He said the chief minister had made a successful attempt to transform the state.
He further said the BJP government has ensured the prosperity of farmers in the state by introducing e-procurement of food grains and digitisation of Public Distribution System.
Notably, Chhattisgarh is among many states in the country with a completely decentralised system for procurement of paddy and wheat under Centre’s ‘Decentralised Procurement Scheme (DCP)’.
The BJP president further noted that Chhattisgarh was the first state to provide short-term interest-free agriculture loan under the BJP rule.
He said the state was the among the first to bring out an ordinance for skill development, through which the BJP government had done a better job of employing the poor.
Exuding confidence in his party, Amit Shah said the BJP will form the government in Chhattisgarh for the fourth consecutive time.
Laying out a slew of projects, Shah said, extending 24-hour electricity, pure water, road construction, education, health, and transport facilities to the remote areas were the major achievements of the BJP government led by Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah accused the Congress of supporting and terming the Naxals as “revolutionaries” in the state.
He said a party which terms Naxals as revolutionaries cannot bring development in the state.
Earlier on Friday, while addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out the opposition Congress accusing the party of “supporting urban Maoists” in the poll-bound state.
Read | Chhattisgarh polls | Congress backing urban Maoists, must be taught a fitting lesson: PM Modi
The PM had urged the people of Bastar to “teach the Congress leaders a fitting lesson who on one hand try to shield the urban Maoists and on the other, speak about freeing Chhattisgarh from Maoists”.
Rahul Gandhi who also addressed a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker attacked the BJP government over alleged inaction against insolvent businessmen who have “fled the country”.
Gandhi is slated to be on a two-day tour of the state.
The Congress is hoping to leverage anti-incumbency sentiments and the rising agrarian crisis in the state in its bid to oust the 15-year-old Raman Singh-led government.
The campaigning for the first phase will end on Saturday.
The first phase of polls will be held on November 12 covering 18 constituencies across eight Naxal-affected districts namely Bastar, Kanker Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon. The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20.
The counting of votes will be taken up on December 11.