BJP releases manifesto for Bihar polls, promises free Covid vaccine

With just six days left for polling for the first phase in the three-phase Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP on Thursday released its election manifesto or 'Sankalp Patra', making a slew of promises.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the manifesto at a function held in Patna. Speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman said that Bihar's development is essential for the nation's progress and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) needs to win this elections for the development of the state.

The highlight of the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' is the promise of "free coronavirus vaccination for all" in Bihar.

"As soon as a Covid-19 vaccine is available for production at a mass scale, every person in Bihar will get free vaccination. This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto," Sitharaman said.

The party also promised to create as many as 19 lakh jobs for the youth of Bihar.

The saffron party has evolved a five-point formula for the development of the state, which includes a healthy society, self-dependent Bihar, educated Bihar, strong industry and strong agriculture with financially sound farmers and healthy rural-urban development.

The party has given a roadmap for the next five years to address 11 promises that include enhancing the current size of the budget, raising the state's GDP, pushing up the agricultural growth rate, per capita income, availability of electricity, roads etc.

Speaking after the release of the manifesto, BJP national President J.P. Nadda said: "People often ask me what is 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'? I want to tell them that the Centre has launched a 'Make In India' programme to promote domestic manufacturing. The idea of Make In India is to make the country self-reliant. And the same applies for Bihar."

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said, "The next five years are very important for us. We have developed growth oriented ground and time has now come to fly high. It's time to take forward the positive works we did in Bihar in the last 13 years in Bihar. Hence, we have coined the slogan 'Aatmanirbhar Bihar'."