MP polls: SP promises houses for poor, unemployment allowance, farmers' fund

Building solar panel-fitted houses worth Rs 5 lakh for the poor, setting up a Rs 5,000-crore farmers' fund and providing unemployment allowances are the major promises made by the Samajwadi Party in its manifesto for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election.

The SP, which is contesting 51 out 230 seats, has also proposed a six-month imprisonment and Rs 1-lakh penalty for traders who purchase farmers' produce below the minimum support price (MSP).

The party also promised development of "smart villages" and providing milk and ghee to pregnant women and the students in the midday meal.

"The SP does what its says. There is no difference between what we say and what we do. The BJP had promised that sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh would be paid well for their produce, but didn't keep that promise. The BJP is known for not keeping its promises," party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, while releasing the manifesto here on Tuesday.

Yadav said the BJP had also promised to provide laptops in UP, but the people were still waiting.

In the manifesto, the SP promised to provide an unemployment allowance to the jobless graduates and students who have passed Class XII.

The party also promised a special-development plan for the impoverished Bundelkhand region of the state.