"80 harao, Loktantra bachao": Akhilesh guns for BJP, raises new slogan ahead of LS polls

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 1 : Raising the campaign pitch as the Lok Sabha elections draw near, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav came out all guns blazing at the ruling BJP at the Centre, as he raised the slogan '80 harao, Loktantra bachao' (Defeat BJP in all 80 Lok Sabha starts to save democracy).
Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the Lower House of the Parliament, the highest among all states in the country.
"Our leaders and workers will spread out to each and every village with the slogan '80 harao, Loktantra bachao'. The BJP will be sent packing in the upcoming general elections," the former chief minister told media persons on Friday.
The SP chief affirmed that his party, along with other partners in the Opposition bloc, INDIA, would put up a unified challenge against the BJP-led NDA at the Centre to "save democracy and the constitution".
Addressing a recent public event in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the people of Uttar Pradesh have already made up their minds to ensure victory for BJP candidates in all 80 Lok Sabha seats.
In line with the target that PM Modi set for the country's most populous state, the BJP heavyweights in UP, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, went into a closed-door huddle with the party's national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter's residence in the national capital.
According to party sources, the discussions at the meeting centred around a strategy and roadmap for the BJP to sweep the state in the Lok Sabha elections.
Further hitting out the BJP's 'double-engine' government at the Centre and the state, the former chief minister said, "This government has betrayed our farmers. They took the reins of administration at the Centre on the promise of working for the welfare of farmers and doubling their income. However, in the ten years of this government at the Centre, it is inflation that has skyrocketed, not farmers' income. Our youth are jobless and no work has been done to open employment avenues for them. The government is now getting exam papers leaked for their sake."
Amid fierce attacks from the Opposition, the Yogi Adityanath government in the state recently cancelled a police recruitment exam over allegations of a paper leak.
Later, speaking at a public event, CM Adityanath vowed a thorough probe into the alleged paper leak and exemplary punishment for those found guilty.
After months of hard bargaining by both sides, the SP and its INDIA partner Congress closed the seat-sharing deal for Uttar Pradesh as part of which the former will contest 63 Lok Sabha seats, setting aside the remaining 17 for the grand old party.
The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be notified soon and held sometime between April and May this year.