‘Viksit Bharat’ agenda takes centre stage at first meeting of BJP’s manifesto committee

The road map for the government’s “Viksit Bharat” agenda took centre stage at the first meeting of the BJP’s election manifesto committee on April 1 as eight Union Ministers and three Chief Ministers joined other party leaders to deliberate on its key promises for the Lok Sabha elections. Defence Minister and former BJP president Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting, with Union minister Piyush Goyal telling reporters that the party has received over 3.75 lakh suggestions through its missed call service and nearly 1.70 lakh on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's app. That this is the first time in many decades that some of the core ideological promises of the BJP may not find mention in its election manifesto has added to the general curiosity about what will be the highlights of the ruling party's poll pledges this time. With Article 370 repealed by the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its second term and the Ram temple construction in full swing and already open to devotees, two of the party's core promises for the last several polls stand fulfilled.