Recently, the congress attacking BJP government in Karnataka for failing to fulfill of its 2018 manifesto promises is unfortunate. From defence to development the political parties manifestos show which electoral promises have been translated into policies.
Elections are fought on promises which form the main fulcrum of trust between the electorate and the politicians seeking votes. More often than not, a majority of these promises remain unfulfilled, either because they are too ambitious to be fulfilled or because the political will is simply not there to ensure their implementation.
The issue is “ what is the sanctity behind all these lofty promises that the political parties make at the time of elections? Can they be held accountable for unfulfilled and impractical promises? In 2017, at a high-profile seminar, Justice J. S. Khehar, then Chief Justice of India, lamented that election promises routinely remained unfulfilled and manifestos had become a “mere piece of paper”. The political parties must be held accountable in such cases. The ECI should invoke its authority under Article 324 of the Constitution and implement the Guidelines on Election Manifestos more rigorously, ensuring the sanctity of the elections.
