LUCKNOW: Finally getting into poll mode, the Samajwadi Party released its vision document for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and chalked out a schedule for party chief Akhilesh Yadav who will embark upon his campaign from Pilibhit on Friday.
Keeping its focus intact on its narrative of PDA - Pichhada (backward classes), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (Minorities) – the Samajwadi Party, on Wednesday, released its ‘Vision Document’ promising a caste census by 2025 and total eradication of poverty from the country by 2029.
Titled ‘Is Bar PDA Sarkar’, the 20-page Vision Document of the SP released by party president Akhilesh Yadav, in the presence of senior party functionaries, steered clear of any caste or religion specific commitments.
The party has also included points agreed among the INDI Alliance partners like a law for Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all the crops (and milk), scrapping of Agnipath Scheme, stopping privatization of public sector and filling up over 30 lakh vacancies in government departments.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav, who has been elusive on the ground, will start addressing public meetings from April 13 to 17 in constituencies going to the polls in the first phase. However, his final programme will be released by the party soon after consulting Congress headquarters in order to avert a clash with joint public meetings with Rahul and Priyanka.
As per sources, senior Congress leader and the party’s UP in-charge Avinash Pandey had called on Akhilesh Yadav at the party headquarters on Monday and discussed modalities of the joint campaign. He, later, confirmed that a joint SP-Congress rally would soon be organised. He also said that the leaders of the two parties would also hold joint campaigns across UP.
Notably, while the BJP has been active on the ground with all its top brass including PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda and UP CM Yogi Adityanath addressing back-to-back rallies in the constituencies set to vote in the first and second phases, the INDI bloc partners have yet to be seen in poll arena.
SP Vision Document's salient features:
Social justice: Caste census by 2025 | All vacancies of reserved category to be filled
Farmer welfare: MSP guarantee on all crops, milk as per Swaminathan formula | Waive all loans to landless farmers | Rs 5000 pension for landless, small farmers.
Youth & employment: 150 man days of work under MNREGA @ Rs 450 wages | Urban Employment Guarantee for cities in first sitting of Parliament
Aata & data: Nutritious ration | Rs 500 worth internet data for every ration holder family
Education & health: Double the budgetary allocation on education from the existing 3 per cent of the GDP | Increase the allocation to upto 3.5 per cent of the GDP for the Health sector.
Women empowerment: 33 per cent reservation in parliament, assemblies within next two years | 33 quota for women in all government jobs, police
Labour welfare: Minimum daily wage for unorganized sector at Rs 450 | OPS for all government employees including para-military.
