Free ration, jobs & hospitals in BJP manifesto for Madhya Pradesh polls

BHOPAL: Six days before polling, BJP national president JP Nadda on Saturday released the party's election manifesto, promising not only to continue the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for another five years, but also to provide pulses, mustard oil and sugar at concessional rates under the scheme.
The manifesto focuses on improving health facilities in the state by starting medical colleges in tribal districts and starting AIIMS-type Medical Sciences Institutes in every division.It also promises IIT-style Madhya Pradesh Institute of Technology (MPIT). The party manifesto promises to provide at least one job or self-employment to every family.

At election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly announced that the free ration scheme for the poor, which started during the Covid crisis and was scheduled to end in December 2023, will be extended for five years to benefit 80 crore people.
The manifesto also says that no family in Madhya Pradesh will remain homeless if the party returns to power. The BJP government will launch Chief Minister's Jan Awas Yojana, which will build houses for the poor along with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The 1.30 crore beneficiaries of Ladli Behna Yojana will get priority in housing schemes, it says, adding that their monthly allowance will continue.
Beneficiaries of Ladli Behna Yojana and the Centre's Ujwala Yojana will get LPG cylinders at Rs 450, and financial assistance under Ladli Laxmi Yojana will be increased from Rs 1.43 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

"Today's young generation does not know what Madhya Pradesh was 20 years ago. In the last 20 years, the BJP government has worked to take a BIMARU state forward on the path of development. MP has progressed rapidly on all parameters be it per capita income, agricultural production or the condition of electricity, water and roads," Nadda said at the event.
"The BJP state government has fulfilled its past promises, and carried out additional works that were not in the manifesto. It is our promise to the people of the state that in the coming years we will make Madhya Pradesh a developed state," Nadda said.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said: "It is the guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we will make a road-map and implement every word in the manifesto. I am happy to say that we tried our very best to implement what we had promised earlier. We made schemes for people's welfare which were implemented on the ground and not just on paper."
BJP has promised to spend Rs 3 lakh crore for the empowerment of tribals. It says it will pay tendu leaf collectors Rs 4,000 per bag instead of the prevailing rate of Rs 3,000 per bag. The Congress has made the same promise in its manifesto. For tribal welfare, the BJP has promised to start medical colleges in tribal-dominated districts, including Mandla, Khargone, Dhar, Balaghat and Sidhi.

The party promises free education till class 12 for all students from poor families. Now breakfast will also be served in government schools along with mid-day meals. Girls from poor families will get free education from nursery to post-graduation.
The BJP promises an investment of Rs 20,000 crore for introduction of hi-tech medical facilities and doubling of beds in hospitals and ICUs.