Mulayam sounds poll bugle,quiet on UP split

Speaking at his first public meeting ahead of the polls at his partys bastion of Etah on Wednesday,Mulayam appealed to voters to return the SP to power in the state.

Kicking off his partys campaign for the 2012 Assembly elections,Samajwadi Party national president and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday attacked both the BSP and the Congress over corruption but chose not to mention Chief Minister Mayawatis proposal to divide UP into four parts.

Speaking at his first public meeting ahead of the polls at his partys bastion of Etah on Wednesday,Mulayam appealed to voters to return the SP to power in the state. He reminded voters that his government had implemented several pro-people schemes such as Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojana and gave unemployment allowance for the jobless and scholarships for poor students.

He said people were suffering because both the central and state governments were corrupt,and farmers were not getting genuine prices for their agriculture produce. He promised that if the SP was voted to power,it would provide irrigation water free of charge. He also spoke of the poor condition of weavers and said his government ensured that Muslims got their due share in the recruitment of police constables.

Meanwhile,Azam Khan and Ram Gopal Yadav,both party general secretaries,described Mayawatis proposal to divide UP into four states as an election stunt to divert the peoples attention from real issues.

Referring to the Centres move to provide quota within quota for Muslims,Azam said the SP would not accept anything less than complete implementation of the recommendations of Sachar committee and Rangnath Misra commission.

SPs state president and Mulayams son Akhilesh Yadav is currently on a state-wide tour. Mulayams decision to begin his election campaign from Etah is being seen as an attempt to connect with old voters in the area. Etah is also the Lok Sabha constituency of former BJP chief minister Kalyan Singh,who was Mulayams ally in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections but later went his own way.

Of the eight Assembly seats in Etah and nearby Kanshiram district,the SP could bag only two in the last elections although Etah is regarded as its stronghold.