UP 2022: Why Akhilesh Yadav Is Trying To Corner Yogi Adityanath On Inflation

Former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav is leaving no stone unturned to give a tough fight to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming assembly polls. Other than knitting alliances with small parties, Yadav has been maintaining a strong verbal stance against his main opponent.

Akhilesh’s ‘Inflation Card’

In the run up to the UP 2022 assembly polls, at all his rallies and public meetings, Yadav has attacked the BJP on all fronts, the issue of ‘inflation’ being his key focus. “For BJP, ‘J’ stands for ‘jhooth’ (lie), ‘A’ stands for ‘ahankar’ (arrogance), and ‘M’ stands for ‘mehengai’ (inflation),” said the SP chief in Kushinagar.

Taking a dig at the BJP over rising prices of petrol and diesel, Yadav, in Gorakhpur, said: “The BJP promised that the poor who wear hawai chappal (simple footwear) would be able to fly in hawai jahaz (aeroplanes) but the government made diesel and petrol so expensive that now people are unable to even move their motorcycles.” Referring to the recent cut in fuel prices, Yadav alleged that the BJP is not increasing the fuel prices as elections are round the corner.

“While the government has introduced cooking gas cylinders under the Ujjawala scheme, people are finding it difficult to refill them due to high prices. Women were unable to refill the cylinders,” said the SP supremo. “The BJP picked the pockets of the poor and filled the coffers of industrialists,” he added.

“The poor are being given food grains only till the elections. They (BJP) are saying that it has been extended from Diwali to Holi, but if our party comes to power, food will be available round the year,” claimed Yadav, referring to the state government’s provision of free ration to the public since the Covid-induced lockdown has begun.

Could Inflation Concern The BJP’s Election Prospects?

In the last few months, significant rise in prices of various daily commodities, be it petrol and diesel, vegetables, pulses, flour, fruits, edible oils, tea, sugar, etc, have been observed.

The prices of numerous edible items, in comparison to March 2020, have almost doubled. Many wholesalers are of the view that the inflation this year has been the highest in the past one decade.

According to this report in Dainik Bhaskar, these are the prices of essential items in Uttar Pradesh in March 2021 as compared to March 2020.

Note: Prices are mentioned per litre for oil and per kg for others.

When it comes to vegetables, untimely winter rains in early November ruined the yield of many seasonal vegetables like cauliflower, carrot, soya, and spinach, etc, which in turn have resulted in much higher prices. In the past one month, there has been a sharp increase in the prices of fruits such as banana, apple, pomegranate, and papaya. Added to this, the prices of edible oils and LPG cylinders have also increased.

Given that ‘swing voters’ often become the deciding factor in an election and that Yadav and his allies have decided to use the ‘inflation card’ to attack the BJP, if the rise in prices continue, it could be a matter of concern for the Adityanath-led BJP government.