Meet the man who treasures manifestos

KOZHIKODE: Political parties may forget their manifestos once elections are over, but Mangalam Gopinath of Manjeri in Malappuram district is one who hasn't let them fade away with time.

The 79-year-old has amassed a collection of manifestos, including those the Congress published during the 1937 provincial elections. He still pursues his interest in tracking the

poll

pledges of various parties.

Gopinath, also a state Congress functionary, concedes the track record of parties in adhering to pledges leaves a lot to be desired. Manifestos, he says, should be made legally binding so that public trust isn't eroded.

"The 1937 Congress

manifesto

promised to secure equal rights and the advancement of all, including marginalized sections, women and tribals. The same promises found place in the party's 2014 parliament

election

manifesto. It is true that many promises made by parties are so splendid that it is impossible to implement all within a timeframe," he said.

A quick scan through crumbling manifestos from the past showed that Congress had, in the 1945 elections, promised a "right for every citizen to keep arms" and "develop India into a cooperative commonwealth". It promised equal rights to all, granting of constitutional rights of freedom of expression, freedom of religion. The economic vision was: "The state must own or control basic industries and services, mineral resources, waterways, shipping and public transport".

Gopinath says his love affair with manifestos began when he was 16. "I started collecting manifestos to write my speeches during election campaign. In those days, manifestos were the only source of information on party programmes. I retain that passion and have collected over 100 manifestos including that of Left parties and the BJP," says Gopinath, who has been a KPCC member from 1978.

The Supreme Court in July 2013 directed the EC to frame guidelines on the contents of election manifestos in consultation with recognized parties. Following this, the EC included a section on manifestos in the model code of conduct for parties in 2014.

The section dealing with manifestos says parties should avoid making promises that are likely to vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on voters.