Manifestos have been published almost as an afterthought ( in the last 10 days or so ) by the two major parties. That too mostly as a rebuttal to the other. Congress brought out a charge sheet first - and rightly so. However , my view is that the party should’ve published an abridged charge sheet much in advance ( esp. about the issues on which BJP couldn’t have taken remedial measures) – which they didn’t . To say that public has a short memory and hence raise the issues at the last moment doesn’t wash .For, even if that is the case – it is precisely the duty of the opposition party not to let it go out of public memory.
On the other hand, BJP should’ve published its draft manifesto- a report card of sorts - much earlier ( highlighting the achievements which couldn’t be denied ) much earlier. To some extent they did by having a well mounted media campaign. However, the final BJP manifesto contains much of the same thing : Bijli Sadak Pani ( an extrapolation of it viz . making four lane roads, electricity round the clock in villages , water policy etc. ) barring a few new things such as making the MP a biotech state , promoting Ayurvedic medicine by opening Ayurvedic clinics in rural areas, making every village a Patwari Halka , providing forest based jobs to tribal youth etc. My take on this that BJP is not all that good on providing a vision- it being a party of traders & tecchies who are more cued to the applied aspects ( A corollary of this attitude is that it breeds greater corruption since this class is focused on getting the work done irrespective of the means ).