Kerala Assembly polls 2026: AIIMS, high-speed rail network on BJP manifesto

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.

The NDA also pledges welfare schemes for lower-income households, including the introduction of ‘Bhakshya Arogya Suraksha cards’ for women in below poverty line (BPL) families that will provide a monthly recharge of ₹2,500 for groceries and medicines. Other welfare pledges include providing 20,000 litres of free water monthly to every household, two free LPG cylinders annually during Onam and Christmas, and increasing social security pensions to ₹3,000 per month for senior citizens over 70 and widows.

Moreover, the manifesto delves into safety and environmental concerns through various proposals, including expanding all-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 ‘safety for Kerala’ while maintaining ‘water for Tamil Nadu.’