3rd phase a litmus test for Akhilesh’s work

AS 69 constituencies of central Uttar Pradesh vote in the third phase of Assembly polls on Sunday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will be facing his biggest test yet; whether his party can replicate, or better its 2012 performance of winning 54 of 69 seats, which had included a clean sweep in Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah and Auraiya districts. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, SP had won only Kannauj and Mainpuri seats.

Akhilesh’s claim of having introduced big development projects like the Metro Rail in Lucknow, the Lucknow-agra Expressway starting from Lucknow and connecting seven out of 12 districts going for polls in the third phase — including Hardoi, Unnao, Kanpur, Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah and several others — is also at stake, and only the results will tell whether his “kaam bolta hai” slogan worked on voters.

Other districts in this phase include Lucknow, Barabanki, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao, Kanpur City, Kanpur Dehat and Farrukhabad.

Having himself admitted that there was opposition from within the party in home district Etawah, Akhilesh is contesting this election alone, with party patriarch and father Mulayam Singh and uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav campaigning only in specific pockets. The chief minister had even made an indirect attack on Shivpal during his public meetings held in Etawah recently, stating that the SP will have to fight the SP in elections there.

Mulayam has only canvassed for Shivpal and his daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, contesting from Lucknow Cantonment. Kannauj MP and the CM’S wife Dimple Yadav campaigned for Aparna.

Akhilesh’s cousin Anurag Yadav is also contesting from Lucknow’s Sarojini Nagar seat. He was fielded after sitting MLA and Minister Sharda Pratap Shukla was denied a ticket. Shukla is now contesting on a Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket against Anurag.

“Ever since Congress has come with us, Opposition parties are disturbed... they are talking only on SP and Congress and nothing else.”