AGRA: With the 2014 Narendra Modi wave a thing of the past, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav appears to be taking ove the development plank from the BJP for the upcoming Assembly elections. While farmers appear anguished that much of the promises made by the BJP during the 2014 polls remained unfulfilled, the chief minister seem to be beating the anti-incumbency factor, as locals claimed that “Yadav has turned Agra into Paris”.
Even while the long drawn out family feud within the Yadav clan continues to command the attention of the people on the lines of a never ending television serial, the state chief minister seems to be gaining the support. “Akhilesh Yadav has taken the right step to take control of the party. Mulayam Singh Yadav should have passed the baton to avoid the family drama. Akhilesh Yadav has done a lot of good works for the state. There is no anti-incumbency factor against him,” said Rajesh Pachauri of Bakalpur village in Mathura.
Even while the BSP supremo Mayawati had faced the CBI probe in the Taj corridor project, the chief minister seems getting the credit for its completion. With carved and lighted red-sandstone pillars dotting the Taj corridor in Agra, the stretch has become a major tourist attraction. “Akhilesh Yadav has turned Agra into Paris. You may just go and take a look,” said Rohit Singh, who added that the inner ring road in the city along with the promises of airport and Metro have endeared the chief minister closer to the people in Agra.
Even while Agra had traditionally been a BSP bastion, the SP is making spirited attempt to make inroads into the area. The prospects of the SP had apparently taken a hit after the sudden demise of its nominee Chandrasen Taplu. However, his wife Mamata Taplu, who is now the SP candidate from Agra Cantonment, after winding off campaigning late evening, told EXPRESS that people in the city are rallying behind the chief minister due to his development credentials. “He is a youth with a clean image. The chief minister has fulfilled all promises that he had made for Agra. My husband had also done a lot of developmental works,” said Mamata Taplu.
While Akhilesh Yadav is drumming up support for completion of road projects and welfare schemes, the BJP is facing anger of the farmers. “Farmers sowed pulses in the hope of better prices. But once the crop matured, the prices crashed. Similarly, the potato farmers could not recover even half the input cost,” said Ajay Singh, a farmer in Sikandara.
Having won the political battle against his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, people on the ground claimed that the chief minister could not be blamed for poor law and order situations in the state. “People are well aware that there were bad elements who did not allow the chief minister to function independently for most parts of his tenure. Now that those elements are out of the party, Akhilesh Yadav has come out clean and stronger. The Muslims will back him in this elections,” said Gani Mohammed, a retired teacher, in Agra.