According to the BJP manifesto released on Monday, “the strategic gains acquired by India during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime on the nuclear programme have been frittered away by the Congress”, which it suggested, necessitates a revision of the no-first use policy.
The election, a six-week process which is expected to see more than 600 million people vote, started on Monday with millions in the country's remote north-east going to the polls
Surveys predict a big win for the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) – whose prime ministerial candidate is Narendra Modi – though not an absolute majority in the 545-seat lower house of the national assembly.
The long-awaited BJP manifesto includes hundreds of policy initiatives including bullet trains, investment in job creation, water connections for every household, increased local defence production and funds to boost the practice of yoga.
