Akhilesh woos youth with laptops, smartphones

Looking forward to a second term as UP chief minister and banking on his pro-development image, Akhilesh Yadav, 43, has promised smart phones for all if the SP is able to retain power in the state.

In 2012, his promise of free laptops to students had won him a sizeable following.

Releasing the SP poll manifesto in Lucknow on Sunday, Akhilesh said laptops had reached every neighbourhood in the state.

Targeting women, who comprise half the electorate in the state, Akhilesh promised them free pressure cookers.

His wife, Dimple Yadav, a Lok Sabha member representing Kannauj, stood next to Akhilesh on the dais. 

SP founder and Akhilesh’s father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and his brother Shivpal Yadav were absent on the occasion. Later Akhilesh and Dimple met Mulayam. Recently, Akhilesh outwitted the old guard within the party and the ruling Yadav family to emerge as the undisputed leader of SP.

However, the chief minister acknowledged Mulayam’s contribution in building up SP and explained his party’s philosophy to the gathering. SP, he said, was committed to the “politics of secularism, socialism and development”.

Targeting the urban voters, the SP manifesto promised metro expansion in Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi and Meerut, constructing the Purvanchal and Bundelkhand-Terai expressways, river front development in prominent cities, Rs 10 lakh for the families of lawyers if they died before turning 60, and Samajwadi sports schools.

Detailing his pro-development agenda for the villages, the chief minister said the Kanya Vidya Dhan, Samajwadi pension, and establishing Janeshwar Mishra model villages, besides improving helplines for the police and women in distress, were part of the poll manifesto.

Akhilesh asked the candidates to prepare a plan to develop their constituencies.

The SP manifesto further promised funds for farmers, 24-hour power supply in villages, Rs 1,000 crore per month to 10 million people under the Samajwadi pension scheme, free bicycles to girls in classes 9-12, free ghee and milk powder to poor students, nutritious diet to pregnant women and a 50 per cent discount to women travelling in state-run buses.