Transition of Thoughts

Weaving thoughts into words

Akhilesh Yadav – Is he the change UP was waiting for?

He is 38 years old. He has completed his B.Tech in Mysore and did his masters in Environmental Engineering in Sydney. Whether it’s an iPad or a laptop or even his Blackberry, he uses it to the hilt to keep himself up-to-date with all the happenings. Akhilesh Yadav, the youngest chief minister in the history of Uttar Pradesh seems like a whiff of fresh air among the highly corrupt and irresponsible politicians the state has seen till date.

Son of Samjawadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh has won the Lok Sabha polls for the Kannauj constituency in Uttar Pradesh three times (2000, 2004, 2009). He took over as the SP’s UP President in 2009. In the same year his wife – Dimple had contested and lost the seat in Ferozabad to Raj Babbar. This turned to be a battle of prestige for SP. And from thereon Akhilesh’s journey to the post of CM began.

For a party whose manifesto rejected computers, English and also discouraged the use of machines, Akhilesh’s election campaign concentrated on changing the entire face of the party itself. From promising free laptops and tablets to school – leaving students to giving more importance to education; from emphasizing on hand picking his team whoever has a cleaner image even if it means keeping a few people unhappy to picking up more educated people, Akhilesh seems to have started on an impressive note. The fact that he is young, dynamic and has a much cleaner image compared to the oldies like Mayawati and others seems to have struck a chord with the public.

But then years of corruption, near lawlessness and ‘Goondaraj’ cannot be removed at the drop of a hat. Neither can one person do all of that at the snap of his fingers. Just after his victory there were many incidents of violence by SP workers across the board. Does Akhilesh have it in him to rein his party workers? SP has always been accused of covertly supporting the SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) in Azamgarh. Will he bother to change this?

Does Akhilesh have it in him to change the way things work in UP? For a state where corruption starts from the grassroots, does he have the potential to change the thinking of the people? Can he bring investment into a state where corporates are even scared to enter because of the scale of corruption involved? Does he have the guts to hurt a few people so as to take UP to the next level?

At the moment, his rise to the top reminds me of Obama who people assumed would take USA to the heights. But sadly it has plunged to unbelievable depths since then. Will this be the case of Akhilesh or will he soar up above everyone else? The UP voting public has placed faith in him. Can he keep their trust?

Watch out!

Previous

Rahul Dravid – The Wall of Cricket and much more!

Next

Guest Post: Time to WAKE UP – The authorities!!

16 Comments

  1. rachna

    Good writing! Its nice to see educated people like Akhilesh Yadav stepping into politics. Its shouldn’t be expected that there will be herculean reforms in a place where corruption has been thriving in the grassroots for ages. Perhaps small moves and subtle changes are the order of the day and would make way for more young enthusiasts.

    • aseemrastogi2

      Thanks didi. Nice to know you liked it. Yeah there can be nothing better than an educated personality joining politics. Hope he can himself be the change he wants all of us to see.

  2. Yes, all we need is to watchout…
    UP has given SP a chance to become a party for all instead of some particular sects. If SP will capitalize this opportunity then within 3 parlamentary electons SP could turn up a bigger party than BJP on national scale. If they will repeat the same mistakes like Mayawati, then after 5 years they will find themselves in opposition or midst of a hung assembly.

    • aseemrastogi2

      Yeah people have put faith in SP. Hope they can repay it back. It’s not going to be easy. But Akhilesh looks to be a man ready to tackle challenges. The next few months / years could be interesting.

  3. forum parikh

    Though he is the youngest and promises to make a change I do agree with you regarding obama. One can’t change the thinking and the practices which have prevailed for years. Anyways one can just hope for the best for UP

    • aseemrastogi2

      Yeah at the moment the only thing we can all day is just watchout if he can himself be the change he wants to see. And will he really want to see the change over a long period of time.

  4. Yes; we really have to watch out. I sincerely wish the state of UP emerges as a respectable state for once. The people in there have gone through a lot. Not that i am expecting too much out of Akhilesh; but let’s wish he does well; or else we’ll have one more politician going down the drain; to talk about!

    • aseemrastogi2

      As someone said, even if he does half of what people expect, it’s gonna be a giant leap for UP.

  5. anita

    Very well written! Just hope that you can be wrong and there will be no Obama in UP politics……..

  6. Nice post again buddy!!
    The people of UP, the most populated state in India, deserves much better treatment than they have been subjected to for so long. Even if Akhilesh is successful in delivering a part of the expectations set for him, I guess it may have a much larger positive impact on the Nation as a whole. All the best Akhilesh…..

    • aseemrastogi2

      Yeah and I guess it has been the shabby treatment which has forced the people to vote for someone fresh, young, new and dynamic. Really hope he manages to live upto the expectations.

  7. The piece deserves a pat because it tries to capture and analyze the current mood in the UP politics. Mr. Yadav comes across as a young man who has got his heart in the right place. His sincerity has aroused many expectations. It will really be interesting to see what happens next. Let’s pray he doesn’t turn out to be full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

    • aseemrastogi2

      Thanks Irfan. I am sure the entire UP and even the nation is waiting with bated breath to see whether an educated guy can really change the landscape of UP. Hope he repays the trust in him.

  8. http://personalconcerns.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/missed-opportunity/

    I liked ur post quite a lot. do check another view on his coronation!

    hope to hear from u!

    • aseemrastogi2

      Thanks Amit. Nice to know you liked my post. 🙂 You have a pretty good blog.

Leave a Reply to Forum Upadhyay Cancel reply

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

%d bloggers like this: