Days after dissolving all party fronts, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav launched a membership drive at the party headquarters in Lucknow on Tuesday. The drive will be carried out at tehsils, zones and districts across the state. The SP chief said he would reveal the number of new party members.
Addressing mediapersons at the SP headquarters in Lucknow on Tuesday, Yadav targeted the Yogi Adityanath government’s 100 days celebrations. “The CM should speak about his achievements of five years and 100 days. Even today, this government is cutting ribbons of the projects completed during the Samajwadi Party regime. Whatever is being inaugurated is also incomplete,” Yadav said.
Taking a jibe at UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak without taking his name, Yadav said, “In the Yogi Adityanath government, the deputy chief minister is questioning the transfers of doctors even though he goes around raiding hospitals. Who is actually doing backseat driving in this government?” he asked.
“The deputy chief minister has no control over the officers of his department who ignore his directives. The recent transfers were done without consulting him. This is a deputy CM who is known for his surprise raids. It appears as if someone is running the Yogi government from behind,” Yadav said.
Replying to a question, Akhilesh said he did not campaign in the bypolls because he had been assured by his party leaders that they would easily win Azamgarh and Rampur seats. “We did not know that the administration would play such a major role and prevent people from casting their votes,” he said.
Attacking the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the SP chief said: “The BJP is following the footsteps of the Congress. When the Congress was in power at the Centre, it used the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to hound the opposition leaders. In Maharashtra, they (BJP) accepted that there was an ED government. The ED government also exists in Madhya Pradesh and other states. The BJP is misusing these institutions.”
A few days ago, Akhilesh Yadav had dissolved national and state executive of the party with immediate effect, including all youth organisations, mahila sabhas and national presidents of all other cells, except the UP president of the party. It is believed that after the completion of this membership drive, the SP will reorganise all the units of the party organisation.
As per party sources, leaders who have come from the Bahujan Samaj Party and BJP may be given key responsibilities while leaders from Dalit, OBC and Muslim communities may also be given important positions. There are plans to make space for leaders from Brahmin and Kayasth communities in the new working committee. A SP spokesperson said it was a big step with an eye on the 2024 parliamentary elections. As per sources, a fresh SP executive could be formed after the national conference of the SP which is likely to be held in the last week of August or early September.
