MP: Nadda to release BJP manifesto for poll-bound MP today

Bhopal: BJP national president J P Nadda is going to release his party’s manifesto for the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.

Populist sops for the farmers, women, youth, Dalit and tribals are expected to find a place in the manifesto.

The Ladli Behna Yojana, the flagship welfare scheme of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, is most likely to be showcased in the party’s manifesto promising to continue it ‘on a bigger scale’ if the saffron party retains power in the November 17 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, sources said.

Under the scheme, around 1.36 crore women have been given financial assistance of Rs 1,250 per month.

The assistance has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,250 recently.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has already announced to enhance the assistance up to Rs 3,000 per month in a phased manner.

Incidentally, the Ladli Behna scheme has taken shape after Congress pledged to provide assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to the women if the party returns to power in the state in the polls.

BJP’s manifesto is most likely to retain the cheap LPG scheme being implemented by the state government currently.

Under the scheme, an LPG cylinder at Rs 500 is given to the women beneficiaries of the Ladli Behna scheme.

The party’s manifesto may announce sops for the farmers in the wake of the promise made by Congress to waive the farm loans.

The Shivaraj Singh Chouhan government has waived the interest on the farm loans recently.

A debate was going on in the party about whether BJP should also promise to write off farm loans to counter Congress’s plan to woo the farmers in the polls, sources added.