Chennai, April 15 -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released its manifesto for the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections, promising a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 to all women heads of households and a one-time sum of Rs 10,000 to every household. The party has promised three LPG cylinders free of cost, each on the occasions of Pongal, Tamil Puthandu and Deepavali. The party also announced that it will declare Thaipoosam as the state festival to honour Lord Murugan and will ensure that the tradition of lighting the Karthigai Deepam at the Thiruparankundram Hilltop is resumed and protected through the years. This comes after Justice Swaminathan's order directing that the ceremonial lamp be lit on the Deepa Thoon (lamp pillar) located atop the Thiruparankundram hill. This had led to a tussle between the ruling DMK, which denied the permission, and the BJP, which demanded that the devotees be allowed to light the lamp atop the hill. The row escalated to contempt petitions and also echoed in Parliament last year. The BJP has also promised to overhaul Tamil Nadu's rail network by enabling land acquisition at fair prices and expanding connectivity via projects like High Speed Rail Corridors (Chennai-Bengaluru, Chennai-Hyderabad), Coimbatore-Tiruppur Salem RRTS, Villupuram-Chennai Semi-Urban Rail, Hydro Power Train project. For women, the party promised to tackle crimes against women through streamlined zero-FIR reporting, victim-witness protection, Special Fast-Track Courts for heinous cases including sexual offences, 100 per cent blind-spot-free CCTV in buses, schools and universities, and optimised Nirbhaya Fund utilisation. The BJP said it will empower women-led cooperatives, SHGs, and MSMEs with interest-free loans up to Rs.50 lakh and a mandated 20% government procurement quota. Slamming the ruling DMK-led alliance, BJP chief Nainar Nagendran said: "I wish everyone a Happy Tamil New Year on behalf of the BJP. In Tamil Nadu, a fascist, anti-people, and family rule is going on. With various strategies to defeat the DMK in the upcoming elections, the mega alliance led by the NDA will form the government after the elections. The DMK has not properly fulfilled even a single promise. The deteriorating law and order situation and the increasing crimes against women are examples of their rule. The AIADMK has already released its manifesto, and now we have released ours"...