Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday equated the ongoing general election to “Samudra Manthan”, saying the BJP and the opposition parties are seeking different things from the polls.

Mocking the BJP’s “Abki baar 400 paar” slogan, he said he is afraid that the saffron party will not be able to win even 143 seats.

“Earlier, refined grains were given to the poor for free. Now, the quantity has been reduced. Like fertilizers were stolen from sacks for the poor, now their ration is being stolen,” he alleged.

Yadav was addressing a public meeting in support of Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Bhishma Shankar alias Kushal Tiwari here.

“The 2024 election is one of ‘Samudra Manthan’. Some people want to change the Constitution, others want to protect it….public will answer the naysayers,” he said.

The Samudra Manthana is a major episode in Hinduism that is elaborated in the Vishnu Purana, a major text of Hinduism. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life.

He also hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “not fulfilling” its promises to the electorate.

“All promises of the BJP have turned out to be false. They promised to double the income of farmers instead the debt on farmers is increasing. Loans of big industrialists are being waived off, but black law is being brought against farmers. The laws were withdrawn only when the farmers agitated,” he said.

He said that if the INDI alliance government is formed after June 4, the loans of farmers will be waived and a law will be made for farmers’ MSP.

He said that the paper was leaked by the government. Was the bulldozer fired on those who leaked the paper? Young men used to run on the streets hoping to join the army, but he gave Agniveer a half-hearted job.

Akhilesh said, if the alliance government is formed, 30 lakh jobs will be provided. Agniveer will be completely eliminated. If BJP people come, Khaki’s job will be for three years. Do you know that airplanes and railway stations have been sold?

Referring to Siddharthnagar, he said that not a single investment has come in Siddharthnagar. On the contrary, the Chief Minister should tell what he did for investment.