NEW DELHI: India's floundering ruling Congress party will make a last ditch bid Wednesday to stave off defeat at national elections, releasing its manifesto expected to focus on access to health care and other pro-poor policies.
Congress boss Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are set to announce the manifesto amid fanfare at the party's headquarters in New Delhi later Wednesday.
The manifesto is an attempt to win over millions of voters ahead of the world's biggest elections starting on April 7, when Congress are almost certain to suffer a crushing loss after a decade in power.
Local media said Wednesday the manifesto included welfare policies that have been a hallmark of the current Congress government as it vies for a third term against the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
It was expected to focus on the right to decent and affordable health care and job quotas for disadvantaged sections of society in the private sector.
"It is one of our promises that people's right to health will be ensured if the third UPA (Congress-led coalition) government comes to power," Rahul Gandhi told a rally in remote northeast Tripura on Wednesday.
"We have ensured food security for all...Now we have to implement people's right to health," he said, according to the Press Trust of India.
Opinion polls show Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Gandhi dynasty, losing to the BJP headed by prime ministerial candidate and Hindu nationalist hardliner Narendra Modi.
Congress faces voter anger over a string of corruption scandals that have embroiled the current government, a slumping economy and stubbornly high inflation that has sent food prices soaring.
"Congress is expected to promise creating a national consensus on affirmative action for SCs and STs (socially disadvantaged groups) in the private sector in its election manifesto to be released on Wednesday," the Hindustan Times reported.
"The manifesto is likely to promise 70 new universities nationwide," the newspaper added.
India's nine-phase election begins on April 7 and ends on May 12. The results will be announced four days later on May 16.
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