The Hindu : No bulky manifesto this time

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

National

National

No bulky manifesto this time

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. Change is in the air ... or so the Congress hopes as it pulls all the stops out to come back to power at the Centre. Whether it will succeed will be known on May 13 or maybe even later in the eventuality of a hung Parliament. But, one thing is clear: The Congress is changing.

At least, its manifesto — released here today — was a far cry from the wordy text it brought out in 1999. In fact, the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, herself acknowledged that this manifesto was different from previous ones during the question-answer session when mediapersons asked why the document did not have a component on foreign affairs. "We did not want to bring out a bulky manifesto,'' she quipped.

That it is a "time for change'' was articulated by the Congress on the cover of the manifesto itself. Colourful with a picture of Ms. Gandhi working the crowds, the manifesto has been titled `A Time for Change: Progress with Congress' and bears the party's new all-encompassing slogan "Congress ka Haath: Aam Aadmi Ke Saath."

Set in the party's colours with every turn carrying the slogan, photographs capturing vignettes of India in all its glorious diversity amid stark realities — as showcased by some of the party's own counter-advertisements to the `India Shining' campaign — provide visual relief to the text.

As against the tightly-printed 80-page manifesto brought out in 1999, the manifesto this time round has been wrapped up in 32 pages. But, there is more to follow as three vision documents have been planned and each is likely to be released with considerable fanfare so that the party and its policies remain in public discourse.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National