With just eight days to go for the Karnataka assembly elections 2018, the BJP released its poll manifesto on Friday. The manifesto, released by former CM BS Yeddyurappa at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bengaluru, focusses on farmer welfare, women empowerment, skill development for youth and promoting Kannada culture, among other things.
In the farmer-welfare-centric manifesto, the party has announced a crop loan waiver up to Rs. 1 lakh, including all loans from nationalised banks and co-operatives, in first cabinet meeting for the benefit of farmers.
“Welfare of farmers has always been our priority. We will allocate Rs 1,50,000 Cr for various irrigation projects in Karnataka and ensure water reaches to every field in the state,” Yeddyurappa said.
The manifesto claims that farmers would also receive 1.5x production cost as Minimum Support Price (MSP). A fund of Rs 5,000 crore would be kept aside for "Raitha Bandhu Market Intervention Fund" as a safety net to protect farmers in times of extreme fluctuations and natural calamities.
Another Rs 1,50,000 crore will be spent on irrigation projects across the state.
The party in its manifesto said Rs 100 crore would be spent on enable women farmers to encourage dairy farming.
Other highlights include setting up of Kittur Rani Chennamma Flying Squads which will be set up to attend to distress calls of women in Bengaluru quickly. BJP said that it will also form a Special Investigation Cell, under a woman Police Officer and employing 1,000 police women to investigate all pending crimes against women.
To empower women, the party said that Rs 10,000 crore would be spent as part of “Stree Unnati” scheme, and loans of Rs 2 lakh will be given to set up one of the largest women run cooperatives and establish stores run by women in district and taluk headquarters.
Another Rs 100 crore will be spent to establish 30 MSME clusters under the Karnataka Mahila Enterprise Cluster Program to support women run units, the BJP promised.
The party said that they would spend Rs 2,500 crore to clean and revive the lakes and rivers of Bengaluru and “free Bengalureans from the water tanker mafia”.
The party said that a Special Industrial Investment Summit will be held in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region to attract investment in the area.
The manifesto was drafted by Ananth Kumar, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
The Congress had released its manifesto on April 27, while the JD(S) is yet to come up with its manifesto.