Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will assign tasks to all MPs for 2027 polls at a meeting convened on Tuesday. The leadership is also expected to give a reality check to MPs who are yet to climb down the high of defeating the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.SP presently has 41 MPs — 37 including Akhilesh Yadav in the Lok Sabha and four in Rajya Sabha. All 41 MPs are expected to attend the special meeting to be held at SP headquarters in Lucknow from 12 noon.SP leadership believes some functionaries (read MPs) who feel that since they defeated the BJP in 2024 LS polls, the 2027 assembly polls will be a cake walk for SP candidates in their respective assembly segments. This approach can hit the party hard in the assembly polls. It is time party functionaries realise that SP is against BJP which remains in election mode 24X7 all the year, say party strategists.Sources said Akhilesh Yadav is aware of specific instances related to some MPs which ‘wreak’ of extreme overconfidence, which in some cases has extended to political arrogance. Such display of over-confidence has not been well received by senior functionaries and cadre and needs to be checked. Such instances, if not addressed immediately, can prove counterproductive in the poll season, sources added.The party leadership strongly believes that the tally of 37 MPs that SP achieved in 2024 polls was the result of a host of factors all of which will have to be addressed again and exhaustively for desired results in 2027 assembly polls.Though the meeting’s agenda has not released, senior functionaries had said recently that Akhilesh Yadav had assigned all these MPs tasks like surveying their respective parliamentary constituencies with their ear to the ground, shortlist possible aspirants and candidates from their assembly segments and identify the top 10 issues that ring bell with the voters at the grassroots. At the meeting, these MPs will be asked to submit their report with their detailed feedback.Senior functionaries said the SP chief is likely to assign tasks to these MPs for their respective roles for the 2027 assembly polls. The party chief will also seek suggestions from the MPs on issues that the party manifesto for 2027 polls need to address at the constituency level.BOX ‘Zero tolerance towards crime a charade’Lucknow: Citing the daring dacoity in Sitapur, murder of a woman at Gandhi Ashram in Ambedkar Nagar, and gruesome murder of a family in Etah, Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said BJP govt’s claims of zero tolerance towards crime and criminals is a charade. “These incidents show that the BJP govt’s claims of zero tolerance towards crime and criminals has proven to be a big zero in itself,” Akhilesh said.He said it was not only about crime and criminals, corruption was also rampant like never before at every level because the BJP members themselves are involved in corrupt practices and shielding criminals. “Jal Jeevan Mission is one example of rampant corruption. Overhead water tanks came crumbling down in several districts. In Chitrakoot district treasury a scam of Rs 43 crore has been reported. Another scam of over Rs 21 crore has been reported from the UP Cooperative Bank in Gonda. While these instances are limited to districts, codeine syrup drug syndicate spreads nationwide and beyond,” Akhilesh said.
