Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah today launched the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections 2019. The manifesto, titled ‘Sankalp Patra’, comes just days ahead of the first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on April 11. The party lists 75 pledges that it promises to achieve by 2022, the 75th year of India’s independence.

National security and welfare measures form the crux of the BJP’s focus as it enters the general elections seeking a second term for the Prime Minister. With the tagline of ‘Phir Ek Bar, Modi Sarkar’, the manifesto titled Sankalp Patra was released by PM Modi and the BJP chief in the presence of other senior party leaders.

The manifesto lists the achievements of the Modi government in the last five years, also announced a number of measures it will take if returns to power. The party has announced 48-page manifesto. It is also Narendra Mod’s first manifesto as Prime Minister.

Here are five major takeaways from the BJP’s manifesto:

1) National security

National security forms the major focus area of the BJP manifesto. The Sankalp Patra promises that the security doctrine will be guided by national security interest only. Underlining its commitment to zero tolerance to terrorism, the manifesto refers to the surgical strikes and the air strikes carried out recently. “We will firmly continue our policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ against terrorism and extremism and will continue to follow our policy of giving a free hand to our security forces in combating terrorism,” it says.

The manifesto also promises to strengthen the Armed Forces by speeding up the purchases of outstanding defense-related equipments and weapons. “In order to equip the Armed Forces with modern equipment, we will continue to take focused steps to strengthen the strike capability of the Armed Forces.”

2) Welfare measures

The BJP appeared to have taken a cue from its recent losses in the Hindi heartland states and laid greater emphasis on the welfare of farmers and small traders. The manifesto promises to launch a pension scheme for all small and marginal farmers above the age of 60 across the country. “We will launch a pension scheme for all small and marginal farmers in the country so as to ensure social security to them on reaching 60 years of age,” the manifesto said. The BJP has also sought to woo small traders and promised to expand the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan scheme to cover all small shopkeepers. Among other measures, the BJP also promised to expand the coverage of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to all the farmers in the country. The party also promised to ensure a pucca house to every family by 2022.

3) Kashmir

The party reiterated its stand on the contentious issues of Article 370 and Article 35A. “We are committeed to annulling Article 35A of the Constitution of India as the provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir,” the party said, adding that it believes that Article 35A acts as a hurdle in the state’s development. The party also referred to Kashmiri Pandits and promised to make all efforts to ensure their safe return. “We will provide finanancial assistance for the resettlement of refugees from West Pakistan, Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Chhamb,” it added. On Article 370, the party reiterated its long standing position to abrogate the provision.

Also read: Also read: BJP manifesto 2019 LIVE: BJP releases Sankalp Patra, promises pension scheme for farmers, small traders

4) Ram Mandir

The contentious issue of the Ram Mandir found only asa passing reference in the BJP’s Sankalp Patra. The issue, which has been one of the major poll planks of the BJP for decades, finds little focus in the party’s manifesto. “We reiterate our stand on Ram Mandir. We will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya,” it says.

5) Economic development

Highlighting how the Modi government has turned India into a bright spot from the ‘fragile five’ it was referred among when it came to power in 2014, the BJP manifesto notes that India is now the fastest growing major economy of the world and also enjoys macroeconomic stability. “We have already become the world’s sixth largest economy and will soon be among the top five. We aspire to make India the third largest economy of the world by 2030. This implies that we commit to make India a US $ 5 trillion economy by 2025 and US $ 10 trillion economy by 2032.”