Battling first his father’s shadow and then the Yadav clan, Akhilesh is finally trying to become his own man in the run-up to the crucial 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh
There is no flagpole on the nose, and no red beacon above the cockpit, but there is still something oddly officious about the eight-seater Hawker 900XP jet parked on the tarmac at Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh international airport. It’s the middle of the afternoon, the sun is glinting off the white fuselage, and the tiny windows are tinted in a tantalising shade that reveal just a little bit of the plush interiors. Inside, Akhilesh Yadav, 42, chief minister of India’s most populous state, is ready to embark on yet another whirlwind excursion. He is heading to Saifai, the village his father Mulayam Singh Yadav grew up in, and which is now a swanky hamlet that serves as the unofficial seat of the state’s first family. For, though Akhilesh may be listed as the most important man in Uttar Pradesh in the guide books, he sits uneasy on the iron throne.
As the plane takes off, with Akhilesh in the middle of a deeply political conversation about next year’s assembly elections, discussing Mayawati and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and suggesting how they might join hands to topple him, his voice suddenly trails off midsentence as he glimpses something in the distance. He points at the barren expanse of mud and trees below, and in the middle of it, at a long motorway that is being built at double-quick speed from Lucknow to Agra, and onwards to Delhi via the Yamuna Expressway. “There it is, see it with your own eyes,” he says, “three hundred kilometres without a single break. That is what development looks like!”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 13, 2016-Ausgabe von India Today.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 13, 2016-Ausgabe von India Today.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
New Target Of Terror
On October 20, as dusk fell in the Gagangir area of central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, terrorists opened fire on workers returning to their camp from the Z-Morh tunnel construction site, killing six of them as well as a doctor, and injuring several others.
History Reset In Dhaka
When the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over a violence-stricken Bangladesh on August 8, it promised state reforms.
The Maha Battle For Survival
Maharashtra Is The Big Prize. With Six Parties, Two Major Alliances, It Is Looking At A Never-before Assembly Poll That May Send Two Regional Formations Into Oblivion, Crown Two Other Kings And Have National Political Repercussions
Dating Updated
With millennials and Gen Z complaining of dating app burnout, new features and safety hacks are being rolled out to lure them back
Warp & Weft of History
British journalist Mishal Husain's Broken Threads is a rare mix of research and storytelling, making it a great read for anyone who wants to understand the history of South Asia's present
Love in a Time of War
Rana Safvi, one of India's foremost narrative historians, has written her debut novel
REVOLUTION ON THE ROOFTOP
THE GOVERNMENT'S ROOFTOP SOLAR PLANS FINALLY TAKE OFF AS 12 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS REGISTER FOR THE PM-SURYA GHAR: MUFT BIJLI YOJANA. NOT ONLY WILL IT MEAN SAVINGS FOR HOUSEHOLDS, IT WILL ALSO TAKE THE COUNTRY ONE STEP CLOSER TO MEETING ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS
COMEDY of TERRORS
Anees Bazmee's upcoming Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 looks set to capitalise on the current popularity of the horror-comedy genre
OPERATION MESS-UP
A US COURT'S INDICTMENT OF A FORMER RAW AGENT ALLEGEDLY BEHIND THE PLOT TO ELIMINATE A KHALISTANI LEADER IS A NARRATIVE OF A BOTCHED OPERATION. ALSO AT STAKE IS THE FUTURE OF INDIA-US INTELLIGENCE COOPERATION
CAUGHT IN THE POLITICAL CROSSFIRE
SEVERAL FLAGSHIP PROJECTS FROM THE SAMAJWADI PARTY ERA, INCLUDING IN YADAV REDOUBT SAIFAI, REMAIN UNFINISHED. FUNDING SHORTAGES AND CORRUPTION PROBES ARE CITED AS REASONS, BUT OPPOSITION IS ANGRY