Kerala Assembly polls 2026: AIIMS, high-speed rail network on BJP manifesto
The Hindu
The BJP's 2026 Kerala manifesto promises job creation, AIIMS, a high-speed rail network, and enhanced welfare initiatives.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday released its ‘Vikasita Keralam Vision’ manifesto which promises a radical job revolution and a “politics of performance” to transform the State’s economic and social landscape.
The document pledges the establishment of the State’s first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), categorising the promise as a priority initiative to fulfil a long pending demand for advanced medical care .
Yet another major promise is the development of a high-speed railway network connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur. This ambitious project, designed with a maximum speed of 200 km/hr, aims to reduce the north-south travel time to just three hours and 15 minutes. The proposed project is touted to be India’s first ‘totally green railway project’ and will utilise elevated or tunnelled tracks for 90% of its length to minimise land acquisition.
The manifesto, presented by BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, also proposes an AI-powered corruption-free, responsive governance model. This includes a ‘Keralam Administrative Modernisation Programme’, which seeks to resolve the backlog of over three lakh pending files in the Secretariat through digital integration and a blockchain-based land registry.
The ‘Vikasita Keralam Vision’ also promises economic rejuvenation, with a goal to eliminate unemployment by creating nearly 10 lakh jobs. The coalition plans to achieve this through employment-linked grants of ₹1 lakh per job created, targeting high-growth sectors like 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 establishing a State-wide cold storage network to support farmers.
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