Congress to push for reservation in private sector in its manifesto?

New Delhi, March 25: The

is expected to push for

in the private sector in its election

for the 2014 Lok Sabha election on Wednesday. It is believed that after pursuing economic liberalisation under Manmohan Singh for a decade, the Congress is intending to go back to the left-of-centre politics under the leadership of

, the party vice-president and its future leader.

The Scheduled Castes Cell of the AICC headed by Rahul's close aide K Raju is learnt to have made a strong pitch for a legislation to have a mandatory quota for the SCs/STs in the private sector.

The party is pushing for a strong affirmative action in the private sector to make up for its failure in job creation on the eve of the elections, analysts said. But the party will be doing it at the cost of bypassing meritocracy.

Won't the reservation move make unemployment problem more intense?

Nandan Nilekani, the party candidate contesting from Bangalore South, has also backed the idea of reservation in job sector, stirring up a controversy. [Read here]

The Congress manifesto will also widen the ambit of rights-based legislations to include healthcare and employment. It couls also include a resolve to fight corruption, uplift 70 crore people falling between the middle class and below poverty line, women empowerment and increase their presence in politics. The party may also propose 20 per cent reservation for women in police and judiciary.

The manifesto will be released by party chief Sonia Gandhi in the presence of several party leaders.