A first: Maya has manifesto up her sleeve

Behenji is expected to release a manifesto of the party’s Delhi unit after she speaks to candidates who will be contesting the elections in the Capital, party sources said.

“She will be in Delhi over the weekend to hold meetings with senior leaders of the Delhi unit. The manifesto will be released early next week or over the weekend itself,” a source in the Lucknow office of the party said.

The party has never released a manifesto before fighting the elections in the past. Mayawati had commented before the elections in Uttar Pradesh last year that the party “does not believe in promises and manifestos.”

“The situation in Delhi is a little different and our presence has not been strong in the past,” the source said, defending the plan to prepare a manifesto.

Party leaders in Delhi confirmed the news.

“Mayawati will tell the people about the policies that we will follow and the work we plan to do in Delhi if we come to power,” Kanwar Singh Tanwar, the General Secretary of the party’s Delhi unit said.

While the leaders in Delhi say that Mayawati would make the final declaration, sources say the manifesto will focus on issues related to basic amenities and services in the Capital.

“The regularisation of colonies has been politicised. We will regularise the colonies within months if we come to power,” a senior leader said.

Sources say the party is looking to focus more on the neglected sections of the society, especially the rural areas and the unauthorised colonies.

“We will also be promising an increase in the Lal Dora (village boundaries), which has not been done in the past 100 years,” a senior leader of the party’s Delhi unit said.

The Lal Dora in Delhi was last finalised in 1908 in most villages.

There are 362 villages in Delhi, out of which 135 are classified as urban villages while 227 as rural villages.

“Apart from these issues, power, water, welfare of Sarva Samaj (all sections of the society) will figure in the manifesto,” the source in Lucknow said.