Samajwadi Party national president and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav released 32-page party manifesto for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, in lucknow on Sunday. Taking a leaf out of the Dravidian politics of Tamil Nadu, the manifesto sought to placate every sections of society, with direct gift of pressure cookers to housewives and monthly pension of Rs1,000 to one crore people.
However, party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav gave the event a miss, clearly indicating that all is still not well in the first family of the party. The release of the manifesto was delayed due to absence of Mulayam. Senior SP leader Azam Khan rushed to the residence of Mulayam Singh to persuade him to attend the event. Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of the Chief Minister as well as Akhilesh’s aide Ram Gopal Yadav, was conspicuous by their absence. This was for the first time since 1993 UP Assembly elections that the SP election manifesto was released in the absence of Mulayam, who had founded the party in October 1992.
Riding on the crest of “kaam bolta hai” (work speaks) slogan, Chief Minister Akhilesh, in his new role as the Samajwadi Party national president, announced a slew of schemes which prioritise development of the State.
The manifesto, which lays special emphasis on women, who are 50 per cent of the electorate, promised free pressure cooker to all poor women, nutrious diet to pregnant women at their place, 50 per cent discount to the women travelling in the bus of the state transport corporation, free bicycles (election symbol of the party) to all girls studying from Class IX to XII, solar table lamps to meritorious girl students of rural areas, construction of working women hostels in the cities, free e-rickshaws to all women, subsidised rate interest on loan to women, fast track court and women police in every district to deal with the incidents of crime against women. Besides, the Government will hike the award under Rani laxmi Bai Scheme and give Rs2-lakh gift on the weddings of orphan and handicapped girls and widows, along with a house.
The manifesto promised establishment of farmers’ fund, 24 hours power in rural areas, a pension of Rs1,000 per month to 1 crore people, increasing monthly pension under the Samajwadi Pension scheme to Rs1,000 from Rs500 per month, free smartphones under Samajwadi smartphone scheme, free ghee and milk powder to poor students.
Metro expansion in Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi and Meerut, Samajwadi Party smart villages, construction of Purvanchal and Bundelkhand-Terai expressways, river front development in prominent cities, Rs10 lakh to lawyers, less than 60 years age, on untimely deaths and Samajwadi sports school were some other salient features.
For farmers, the party promised setting up of RsKisan Kosh’ for providing agriculture inputs like the seed and fertiliser at subsidised rates and subsidy in the interest on the loan obtained from Kisan Credit Card emergency treatment and a separate ambulance services for the cattle.
In the education sector, all the colleges and universities would be given free Wi-Fi facility and girl students would get special bus service besides Samajwadi Abhinav vidhalaya would be set up.
In the health sector, the party promised to provide free treatment of all disease to family whose income is less than 1.50 lakh per annumber and cardiac ambulances at the block level. In lucknow airport, air ambulance would be made available for shifting of the patients to other places.
Though SP made no specific promise to the minority this time unlike 2012 and 2014 manifestos for giving job reservation to the community, the party announced to provide skill training to the youths so that they can get good jobs while all financial assistance would be given to all the minority educational institutions. Around one lakh new small business establishments for the minorities would be created during the five-year tenure while the SP Government will ensure representation as per their population in every sector.
Releasing the manifesto, Akhilesh made a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ‘achche din’ promise and pilloried him, saying instead of getting good days, they were handed over ‘jhadu’ (broom) or making people perform yoga, and asked as to what happened to BJP’s ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ slogan.
“People are desperately looking for those who had promised achche din,” he said.
Akhilesh also ridiculed the previous BSP Government as “patthar wali sarkar”, accusing it of doing nothing except for installing stone statues of elephants, its election symbol.
“If BSP comes to power again, its government will install bigger statues of elephants,” he said, attacking Mayawati, who instantly hit back dismissing the SP election manifesto as “mere formality and publicity gimmick to fool people”.
“By mentioning our symbol elephant, Akhilesh has given free publicity and our party is grateful for this,” she said and asked voters not to rely on the “tainted face of the head of the corrupt and criminal Government”.