Will the election manifesto promises be fulfilled?

Ahead of the 13th National Assembly elections, several parties including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, have issued election manifestos.

In those manifestos, an attempt has been made to portray a picture of a prosperous Bangladesh in the future. Many of the promises may seem like dreams to most of the poor people.

Independent candidates are too making many promises and assurances to the people of their respective constituencies.

There are promises like the development of roads, bridges and culverts, schools and madrasas, and even cemeteries or crematoriums.

Making promises before elections is not new. People also know that many of those promises will not be implemented after the elections.

Those who make promises cannot be found nearby, and even if they are found, they cannot be held accountable.

However, people attach great importance to the manifestos of those who are likely to come to power.

In that case, at least two manifestos, that is, the manifestos of BNP and Jamaat, are being widely discussed in the media, in seminars-symposia, or even at the individual level.

In their election manifesto, the BNP promised to transform the country into a modern upper-middle-income country and build a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2034.

On the other hand, Jamaat’s election manifesto highlights its desire to increase the country’s economy to two trillion dollars by 2040.

But the economists believe that for such development, the country’s GDP growth must be sustained at 9 percent or more.

The reality is that GDP growth in the outgoing fiscal year 2024-25 was 3.97 percent.

Due to the current economic crisis in the country, investment has almost stopped, and existing factories are also closing down. Employment is decreasing, while the working population is increasing rapidly.

The deterioration of law and order is raising concerns in public life, including businessmen and industrialists.

Revenue is far below target. Implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP) is at a record low. As a result, infrastructural problems are increasing.

BNP has also made many other promises such as providing six-month allowance to the unemployed, waiving Tk 10,000 in agricultural loans, and providing family cards.

Jamaat’s promises also include the establishment of specialized hospitals in each district.

In reality, building a specialized hospital in Bangladesh will cost more than Tk 2500 crore.

Accordingly, the government will have to spend Tk 1.6 trillion to build specialized hospitals in 64 districts.

For this reason, many people are not getting the balance between election promises and reality.

Despite that, we want the promises mentioned in the manifestos to be implemented as much as possible.