Cong to focus on jobs, farmers in its 2019 election manifesto
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The Congress will approach this election in a more structured way with people’s issues right on the top
SENIOR CONGRESS STRATEGIST
NEWDELHI: The Congress’ message for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will sharply focus on jobs and farmers, party leaders familiar with the matter said on Saturday, yet again highlighting the ongoing agrarian crisis in many parts of the country and the jobs scenario.
The two issues came in for special attention at the first meeting of the party’s manifesto committee held earlier this month, when around 18 to 19 senior Congress leaders gathered to thrash out the basic contours of the party’s manifesto for 2019.
According to two leaders present at the meeting, issues such as corruption (especially the Rafale deal) and mismanagement of the economy will also be accorded high priority .
Both jobs and the agrarian crisis are contentious issues, with the government defending its record on both. It recently increased the price at which it buys 14 crops to ensure farmers earned a 50% return on their investment, and it claims that in the absence of jobs data, the fact that loans to small enterprises and the number of provident fund accounts have increased, indicate that jobs are being created.
“The Congress will approach this election in a more structured way with people’s issues right on the top,” said a senior strategist of the party, pointing out that this is the first time party president Rahul Gandhi has formed a core committee for the polls.
At the meeting, different leaders were also asked to prepare notes on specific sectors.
The notes will provide an outline on how the Congress will approach the sector and its related issues in the run up to elections. “Former Union minister Salman Khurshid has been asked to prepare a note on minorities and Shashi Tharoor will give a note on young professionals. F ormer finance minister P Chidambaram will work on economic issues while Anand Sharma will handle the trade and commerce sector,” said a leader.