MANIFESTO MAKEOVER

This is with reference to “People’s manifesto” ( April 1- 15, 2014). The election manifestos of all political parties, largely prepared by party leaders, promise the moon to the electorate. But once voted to power, most of the leaders either forget their promises or ignore them. In this context, the Aam Aadmi Party’s model of drafting a separate manifesto for each constituency, taking into consideration the opinion of a cross-section of people, for the Delhi Assembly elections held in 2013, was a refreshing change. This model was adopted by the major political parties, including the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, for the parliamentary elections. This is a step in the right direction. Since the manifesto is prepared keeping the public in mind, they should be involved right from the start. Once a political party prepares a manifesto, it should throw it open to the public for discussion and debate. Taking into account the grievances of the people will help the parties prepare a realistic manifesto. K R SRINIVASAN Secunderabad