The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has begun its meeting to discuss and approve the draft of the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

General secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is among the top leaders present at the meeting.

The Congress manifesto, a poll document that contains promises, programmes and policies of a political party for the next five years if voted to power, is expected to be released in Delhi on April 2. It is customary in the Congress to get the draft approved by CWC, the party’s highest decision-making body.

The document is likely to include Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s minimum income guarantee proposal, right to healthcare apart from measures to address unemployment and agrarian distress, party insiders, requesting anonymity, said.

The subjects included in the document are related to farmers, youth, women and child development, education, economy, industry, urban affairs, armed services and retired defence personnel, security issues, environment, foreign policy apart from art, heritage and culture.

On Monday, the Congress leaders are expected to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country apart from the alliance issue. The leaders may also discuss whether Gandhi will con test from a second seat in south India.

In the last CWC meeting in Ahmedabad on March 12, Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had suggested that the minimum income guarantee scheme should be named as Nyay, an acronym for Nyuntam Aay Yojana.

At the same meeting, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram had informed the members that the draft manifesto was ready and that the panel had held 175 consultations with different sections of the society.

The party had kicked off the process of preparing its manifesto in October last year and sought suggestions from the people through a dedicated website and WhatsApp.

The broad theme of the manifesto is “Jan Awaaz” (Your Voice).

The practice to seek suggestions from the public on issues to be incorporated in its poll document to draft a “people’s manifesto” is followed by the Congress since 2014. A 22-member manifesto committee had been constituted and the panel was further divided into 20 subject groups.

“The large theme of this entire manifesto consultation process was — ‘Your aspirations shape the future of India, your voice inspires the change and the Congress is listening to you’,” a party leader said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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