BJP president Nitin Nabin along with Kerala party president Rajeev Chandrasekar and others released the party’s election manifesto in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. | Photo credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday released its manifesto ‘Vikasita Keralam Vision’, which promises a radical employment revolution and ‘performance politics’ that will transform the economic and social landscape of the state.
The document promises to set up the first All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the state, categorizing the promise as a priority initiative to fulfill the long-pending demand for advanced medical care.
Another major promise is the development of a high-speed rail network connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur. Designed with a maximum speed of 200km/h, this ambitious project aims to cut the north-south journey time to just three hours and 15 minutes. The proposed project is touted as India’s first “all-green railway project” and will use elevated or tunnelled tracks for 90% of its length to minimize land acquisition.
The manifesto, presented by BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, also proposes a corruption-free governance model based on artificial intelligence. This includes the ‘Kerala Administration Modernization Programme’, which seeks to clear the backlog of over three thousand pending files in the secretariat through digital integration and a blockchain-based land registry.
The ‘Vikasita Keralam Vision’ also promises economic rejuvenation to eliminate unemployment by creating nearly 10,000 jobs. The coalition plans to achieve this through employment-related grants of ₹ 1 lakh per job created, targeting high-growth sectors such as manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, food processing and pharmaceuticals.
The manifesto also outlines a strategy to transform Kerala into a “food surplus state” by guaranteeing minimum support prices for all crops and setting up a nationwide cold storage network to support farmers.
The NDA also promises welfare programs for lower-income households, including the introduction of a ‘Bhakshya Arogya Suraksha card’ for women in below poverty line (BPL) families that will provide a monthly recharge of ₹2,500 for food and medicine. Other social commitments include providing 20,000 liters of free water per month to each household, two LPG cylinders per year during Onam and Christmas, and increasing social security pensions to ₹ 3,000 per month for senior citizens above 70 and widows.
In addition, the manifesto delves into security and environmental issues through various proposals, including extending women police stations to every taluk and increasing the proportion of women in the force to 30%.
The NDA also pledges to resolve the long-standing Mullaperiyar dam issue by working with the central government and Tamil Nadu to ensure “security for Kerala” while preserving “water for Tamil Nadu”.
Published – 31 March 2026 19:56 IST
