Development is Akhilesh’s slogan in UP

During the campaign rallies, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav reads out a list of things he has done for the State, which includes distribution of free lap-tops to students and developing the expressway from Lucknow to Agra.

He then asks the people what the 73 MPs of the NDA from the State have done for them in the last two-and-a-half years of the Narendra Modi government.

“This is a catchy theme of his campaign. It helps people to easily connect to his politics,” said Mohd Aslam, a medical practitioner in Lucknow. Aslam, who voted for BSP in the 2012 elections, is now following the campaigns of the 43-year-old Chief Minister very closely. “He is young. He is articulate. He is taking a position that is above caste and religion, which is much required in the State,” Aslam adds.

The Yadav scion’s campaign too is youth-centric. Though he had the final say in the distribution of tickets, the SP also faces anti-incumbency in various parts of the State. Some candidates, though they have the Akhilesh stamp, are yet to gain the kind of popularity the Chief Minister has.

Kaam bolti hai (work speaks) is the slogan of the SP-Congress alliance. Akhilesh’s pet projects — the Lucknow Metro, Gomti riverfront, Janeshwar Misra Park and the Agra-Lucknow Expressway - are being flaunted to woo voters. He claims that the law and order has improved. He also seeks votes based on a modern hospital in Lucknow and a proposal to fight floods and drought in Bundelkhand.

The 302-km Agra-Lucknow expressway is his favourite. He tells people to drive through the road to see his developmental steps.

“I got ₹5.5 lakh for a bigha of land acquired by the expressway. It is a good amount. I am happy that there is a road to my village now,” says Vijay Singh Yadav, a villager in Goba near Kannauj.

The villagers of the area, a hotbed of Yadav politics, feel that the new road will bring development to the area. “I lost 10 bighas of land. But I am sure that we all will benefit,” said Anil Yadav.

Villagers, however, have seen certain problems such as clogging of water in the area soon after the construction of roads.

“The authorities have promised that they will resolve the issue. The construction of connecting roads is going on. We hope they will build proper sewage channels once the roads are built,” Yadav added. To help farmers, two to three underpasses have been built in every 3- 4 kilometres of the highway, the villagers claimed.

Farmers in the region want more infrastructure projects for the agriculture sector than just roads. “Potato is the main crop here. But we do not have much cold-storages. Along with investing on roads, he should also start thinking for farmers,” said Ratnavir Singh, a villager from Etawah.

In the Yadav belt, a number of people feel that Akhilesh Yadav should have handled the controversies in SP in a better manner. “Mulayam Singh Yadav built this party.

We did not expect any action from his son that will let down the founders of the party. Akhilesh Yadav did not even visit Etawah during the campaign,” said Paramvir Yadav, an SP supporter.

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