Manifestos have come to play a central role in elections. But many voters wonder about the purpose of the manifestos released by smaller parties that make up a political front in Tamil Nadu where coalition governments are unlikely.
In recent days, several constituents of the coalitions led by the AIADMK and the DMK have released manifestos, setting forth promises that the alliance leaders have not made. “We need not follow what the leader of the alliance has promised just because we are in the alliance. We have to proclaim our fundamental ideas. Whether we participate in a government or not, we have to explain our policies to the people. When our alliance partner forms the government, we will urge it in the Assembly and in public forums to implement our promises,” says Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri.
In fact, the DMK’s allies have advocated prohibition, while the party’s manifesto is silent on the issue. “We have promised total prohibition. When the issue is taken up in the Assembly, we will bring pressure on the government to implement it. The MDMK and the two Left parties [the CPI is yet to release its manifesto] have also included prohibition in their manifestos. The issue carries weight when the alliance partners place a thrust on it,” Mr. Alagiri says.
While campaigning for Velachery Congress candidate J.M.H. Hassan, he went a step further and announced that the economic policies of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be the guiding principle of Tamil Nadu.
CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan says every party has to inform the voters of its stand on issues, and the manifesto is a policy statement. “Without a manifesto it may appear we do not have any vision or direction. We are not going to form the government ourselves. But we are telling people, through the manifesto, what we will do in the Assembly when a particular issue is debated,” he reasons.
He says his party’s manifesto is only talking about persuading the government to implement the promises. “We are not saying that we are going to implement them ourselves.”
In Tamil Nadu, the PMK is probably the first party to have opened a debate on vital issues by presenting shadow budgets. It has placed policies before people every year instead of confining the exercise to the election time. “Today, we are in an alliance [with the AIADMK] and tomorrow, we will lead the alliance. We have participated in [Central] governments. A manifesto seeks to reassure people that we are committed to honouring what we promise,” says K. Balu, the PMK candidate for Jayamkondam.
The governments at the Centre and in the State have implemented the PMK’s policies, says K. Balu, PMK candidate for Jayankondam. “We were the first to demand prohibition. If Samacheer Kalvi is being followed in the State, it is because of the PMK. Today, all parties promise a separate budget for agriculture. The PMK presented a shadow budget for agriculture when it was unthinkable,” he says.
