Lucknow: Ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday made several major election announcements focusing on women, including an annual financial assistance of Rs 40,000 to every woman under the ‘Stri Samman Samriddhi Yojana’.
SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav said that this amount would be further increased if they came to power in Uttar Pradesh.
He also promised laptops for girls who passed the 12th grade, transportation facilities for girl students, reopening 26,000 closed primary schools, and ensuring women’s safety.
Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, referring to the “A” in the party’s PDA as “half the population”, said that respecting women and empowering them economically is the party’s priority.
PDA stands for Pichhda (backward classes), Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (minorities), a core social coalition strategy coined by Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav.
She appealed to women not to be “bound by old customs and social restrictions”.
During the event, Akhilesh Yadav said that the progress of the country and the state is impossible without the participation of half the population.
He asserted that the Samajwadi Party will work for the respect, security, and economic self-reliance of women.
Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the SP Chief said, “Even those who do not understand technology are now talking about distributing tablets… For the BJP, women have become merely a political slogan.”
Referring to the ‘1090’ women’s helpline and the ‘102’ ambulance service launched during the Samajwadi Party government, Akhilesh Yadav said that the party had done “concrete work” in women’s safety and healthcare.
He raised the issue of women’s reservation, questioning the delay in implementing the Women’s Reservation Act, which had already been passed.
He demanded that women’s reservation be implemented in the upcoming elections.
The SP President also announced transportation facilities for women and female students, and said, “Women should become independent and empowered. Women’s mobility will be improved. Facilities like free metro travel will be available to female students through a card… The Samajwadi Party works to unite people with a progressive mindset, and PDA is its unifying slogan.”
Akhilesh Yadav also took a jibe at the Uttar Pradesh government’s ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrishakti Yatra Yojana’ announced for elderly women.
“We have to keep our offices fully shielded. Our plans are reaching there (the government). I don’t understand why we plan something, and then the information gets leaked. This is the result of making bus travel free for elderly women,” he said.
He added that the Samajwadi Party is a party with progressive ideas and adapts to the times and circumstances.
The SP Chief said that if his government is formed in Uttar Pradesh, the 26,000 previously closed primary schools will be reopened and the conditions of Anganwadi centres will be improved.
He also announced the resumption of the bicycle scheme, saying that bicycles will be provided to students as before under the Samajwadi government.
Regarding women’s facilities, Akhilesh Yadav talked about the construction of better public toilets.
He said that public toilets should be given the respectful name “Izzatghar”.
“The Samajwadi Party would work to alleviate women’s insecurity and provide complete freedom to half the population,” he added.
(IANS)
