Even as Maharashtra goes to polling today but Shiv Sena and MNS have not released their manifesto.
Parties like Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were busy criticising each other and are yet to release their manifesto. The first phase of polling will begin today in Maharashtra but both these parties have not bothered to publish their manifesto. Is it because both these parties don’t have any concrete agenda meant for the welfare of people? Manifesto is an important document which mentions about the work which a party will do after it comes to power. But both these parties have put the manifesto on the backburner.
Even the BJP had released its manifesto only on the first day of the polling. Questions were raised about why the party had delayed the release of its manifesto. Even the Election Commission had asked the media to refrain from broadcasting the manifesto of the party on the election day. The infighting within the party was responsible for the delay of release of the vision document. There were huge difference of opinion between BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
The party will be releasing a supplementary manifesto for Maharashtra which will cover local issues and problems. On the other hand, Congress, NCP and AAP have already released their manifestos. The Congress has already blamed the BJP for copying its agenda and also criticised it for being anti-poor. They also added that the document is personality driven and has nothing to do with the party’s ideology.
A BJP leader spoke on the condition of anonymity and said, “Supplementary manifesto is expected to be unveiled in three-four days. But voting in Vidarbha will be completed by then; however, our candidates there have come out with their own supplementary manifestos at the local level.”
The first phase of the polling will happen in the state on April 10, in 10 constituencies of Vidarbha. While the second phase of polling in the state is on April 17 and the third on 24th.
Shiv Sena said that the manifesto release has been delayed as party leaders were busy in campaigning for the Lok Sabha election.
Senior Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai said, “We are working on the manifesto. The work had been delayed because leaders of the five-party ‘Mahayuti’ headed by Shiv Sena and BJP, were busy campaigning.” Desai, who represents Goregaon in the assembly, said they would try and unveil the manifesto by April 10.
A Shiv Sena leader on the condition of anonymity said that this time people will vote for the party. He said, “We want a complete overhaul in the system. We have been moving around in Maharashtra and found people fed up with the Congress-NCP government. Regardless of manifestos or promises, the people will boot out the Congress.”
On its part, the MNS, which claims to be working on a ‘blueprint’ for the state’s development, said they too were in the process of bringing out a manifesto. “We are working on it. We will try and unveil it before April 10.”
