VZCZCXRO1555
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #0755/01 1061500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161500Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6207
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7573
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 3313
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 6234
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1658
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1273
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7882
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 8257
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000755 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: BHARAT BALLOT 2009: BJP PROMISES FREEBIES TO THE 
COMMON MAN 
 
REF: NEW DELHI: 593 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) struck a 
populist tone with the release of the party's manifesto ahead 
of the April-May parliamentary elections.  The BJP lays out a 
range of programs offering something for nearly everyone. 
The manifesto has its focus, however, on lifting those left 
behind in the last five years of economic growth.  In doing 
so the BJP appears to be determined to cater especially to 
the "aam admi" (common man) who, according to conventional 
wisdom, drove the party from power in 2004.  The BJP 
manifesto offers its own plethora of concessions, such as: 
increased farm loans, food guarantees, and public 
healthcare/educational investment.  To reassure its party 
base, the BJP manifesto includes reference to the Hindutva 
theme, but it is perfunctory.  End Summary. 
 
Freebies All Around 
--- 
 
¶2.  (U)  The BJP pinned its hopes to return to power on a 
raft of populist promises in its elections manifesto on April 
¶3.  In a bid to outdo the rival Congress Party, which has 
been loosening up the public purse strings for more than a 
year, the BJP took care to address the pocketbook concerns of 
major Indian voting blocks.  It offered a host of initiatives 
targeting urban voters, who have begun to feel the pinch of 
the global economic slowdown.  For them, it vowed to lower 
taxes, rationalize employee stock options, offer cheaper home 
loans and provide additional tax concessions for armed 
service employees. 
 
BJP's "Aam Admi" Appeal 
--- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Going beyond these sops to the urban middle class, 
the major thrust of the manifesto is on the poor, especially 
in rural India.  It calls for the expansion of programs 
targeting India's lower income classes, including: increased 
public health and education investment, expanded public 
housing and discounted food grain for those living below the 
poverty line.  The BJP also announced it would implement a 
slew of measures to benefit rural farmers -- more farmer loan 
waivers, guaranteed farm income and crop insurance, and 
revised minimum wage laws to help landless agricultural 
laborers. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  UPA Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal 
ridiculed the BJP's proposed largesse, arguing promises of 
tax relief are the prerogative of the government, and that it 
is unethical and inappropriate for a political party to make 
such promises.  Some journalists and many in the Congress 
Party accused the BJP of "lifting" from the Congress Party 
manifesto, which continues with the "aam admi" (common man) 
approach that worked in 2004 elections (Ref. A).  One Indian 
daily described the BJP manifesto as "a game of one upping" 
with the Congress, with the BJP trying to match and then add 
just a bit more to the Congress's freebies. 
 
Watered down Hindutva 
--- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The BJP's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, 
while releasing the manifesto, played to the party's hardline 
base.  He pledged to "explore all possibilities" to 
facilitate the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya where 
Hindu activists had demolished the Babri Mosque in 1992. 
Advani, however, was careful to note that the construction of 
the temple would take place once the BJP had worked through 
all political "negotiations and judicial proceedings," in an 
apparent nod to the BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 
allies that do not share the BJP's Hindutva agenda. 
Political observers pointed out that the BJP featured the Ram 
temple in the party's 1999 election manifesto, but did little 
to move the issue forward when it was in power from 1999 to 
 
NEW DELHI 00000755  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶2004.  They expect the same inaction on the issue if the BJP 
returns to power. 
 
Signature Issue: Tough on Terror 
--- 
 
¶6.  (U)  Emphasizing national security as one its main 
election planks, the BJP pledged to enact a more stringent 
anti-terror law, along the lines of the now repealed 
Prevention of Terrorism Act.  Advani declared that terrorists 
would be punished to the fullest extent of the law if the BJP 
was voted into office.  Advani went on to criticize the UPA's 
"soft approach" to tackling terrorism, alleging that the 
country had become more vulnerable under PM Manmohan Singh's 
watch.  "National security is the most worrisome issue before 
us today," he claimed. 
 
Comment:  BJP Banks on Populist Giveaways 
--- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  The BJP strategy appears to be based on the much 
tested Indian political truism that populist schemes win 
votes.  In the recent past, opposition parties have toppled 
incumbents in many assembly elections - Andhra Pradesh, 
Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu - with the help of 
populist pledges.  In any event, there are few risks to such 
a strategy and little chance of a backlash in the near term. 
Conventional wisdom is that the BJP was voted out of office 
in 2004 after its "India Shining" campaign failed to resonate 
with rural poor.  Not wanting to repeat the same mistake five 
years later, the party has focused its elections manifesto on 
winning over this section of the electorate - the slice that 
the Congress labeled the "aam admi" or common man.  Whether 
or not it was the poor rural voter who tipped the balance in 
2004, it is evident that BJP is going after this voter 
relentlessly in 2009.  End Comment. 
BURLEIGH