Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav was on Monday made to take 'anna sankalp' (pledge with grains in hand) by a farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri district to 'defeat' the BJP in the forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The pledge was administered to Akhilesh by Tejinder Singh Virk, who claimed that attempts were made to crush him under the wheels during the violence at Tikonia in the district along with the other farmers. Four farmers had died during the violence after they were run over by a vehicle allegedly driven by Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish in October.
Speaking to reporters later, Akhilesh promised to clear the cane dues of the farmers within 15 days if his party formed the next government in the state.
"We will clear all cane dues.....we will also provide free power to the farmers for irrigating their fields besides giving them interest-free loans, pension and insurance," the SP president said.
He also announced that his party would provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the farmers who were killed in the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri.
The SP president, who has stitched an alliance with several smaller outfits in the forthcoming polls, has been trying to reach out to farmer leaders to solicit their support for the SP-RLD alliance.
The support of the farmers was crucial if Akhilesh were to nurture any hope of coming back to power in the state. The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), which had been at the forefront of the farmers' agitation against the now-scrapped farm laws, declared its support for the SP-RLD nominees in the western UP region on Sunday.
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