Samajwadi Party is likely to release its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, promising jobs and setting up of a youth commission, in the first week of April.
As SP’s alliance partner Bahujan Samaj Party does not have a tradition to release a manifesto, Akhilesh Yadav will be free to announce his party’s poll promises.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress will also release their manifestos soon.
The SP manifesto is likely to be pro-youth, with the promise to bring a national youth employment job guarantee bill, compulsory job for every youth and setting up of a youth commission.
The manifesto will also focus on larger role to be played by regional parties in the country, particularly in the post-poll scenario.
A senior SP leader said in Lucknow on Thursday that at a time when rising unemployment was a big issue, the party planned to catch the imagination of youths, specially in the state, by promising to enact legislation on national youth employment job guarantee.
“In this legislation, the party will make the promise of providing jobs to all those youths who are registered in employment exchanges within six months time,” he said.
Besides, the youth commission will be constituted on lines of the existing minority or women’s commissions. But this commission will comprise youths from universities and civil societies. It will advise the government on formulating policies for the youths,” the leader said.
The party is also planning to promise a universal pension scheme under which a sum of Rs 3000 per month could be given to senior citizens in below poverty line (BPL) category.
Besides, the SP manifesto could promise a new caste-based census with a demand for reservation quota as per population. The last Census was done in 2011, but its caste details were not made public.
Meanwhile, the SP leader made it clear that the party was of the firm view that political atmosphere in the country has changed and regional parties have gained strength in most of the states.
“In this election, the regional parties will marginalise the national parties and hence neither the BJP nor the Congress will be able to form government. In this scenario, the regional parties will have a say in government formation,” the leader said adding that the SP-BSP combine would go for post-poll alliance on the basis of common minimum programme.