'27,000 votes, 27 seats': Akhilesh lays out SP strategy to counter BJP in UP polls

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said the party has set a target of increasing its vote share by 27,000 votes in each of 27 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh effectively aiming to reduce the ruling BJP's vote share by the same margin.Speaking in Lucknow after a meeting with the party's state executive members and office-bearers, Akhilesh said SP workers would visit voters' homes, listen to their concerns and discuss issues they face.Akhilesh also accused the BJP of leaving people across sections of society unhappy during its decade in power.He said farmers had been promised that their income would double, but claimed that the cost of diesel, petrol, pesticides, fertilisers and DAP had risen while farmers continued to struggle to get remunerative prices for their crops.On ethanol, Akhilesh alleged that the policy was leading to people paying more and questioned who was ultimately benefiting from it.He also accused the BJP of failing to create enough government jobs and said the rights of young people and reservations had been weakened. Referring to Ayodhya, former UP CM alleged that the city had become an example of large-scale land scams. He also criticised the healthcare system, alleging shortages of medicines and inadequate arrangements at hospitals. “Above all, there is a lack of goodwill and brotherhood,” Akhilesh said.SP supremo also targeted Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government, saying the saffron party is responsible for vandalising and destroying Bhimrao Ambedkar's statues in state.He said: "Under the BJP government, more than 151 statues have been vandalised or damaged, according to the data we have documented. They have deliberately vandalised these statues. They wanted to change the Constitution, but they could not. "Akhilesh's poll strategy and the counter to BJP come months ahead of Uttar Pradesh's assembly elections, scheduled for next year. Abhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.