Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Samajwadi Party is on an image makeover exercise. Once strong opponents of computer education, the party is now promising free PCs and tablets to students.
The cycle which once rode with history-sheeters like Atik Ahmed and DP Yadav is now the launch pad for Cambridge educated Abhishek Misra. This 34-year-old has just quit his job at IIM Ahmedabad to contest the upcoming UP elections from Lucknow.
Abhishek Misra says, "Times are changing. The party is making it self relevant to changing times."
The man driving this change is Mulayam Singh Yadav's soft spoken son Akhilesh. Virtually incharge of running the party, the 34-year-old has ensured that 122 of the of the 403 candidates fielded by the party are under the age of 40. 60 of them are not even 30.
Akhilesh Yadav says, "No harm if kids learn English and computers. This is the way to progress."
Congress leader Digvijay Singh said, "Better late than never. Mulayam Singh Yadav was the staunchest opponent of Rajiv Gandhi's computerisation drive. This change I think is because of young leader Akhilesh."
The Samajwadi is not just changing ideologically but socially as well. Pan chewing has been strictly banned and there is a dress code in place, white khadi kurta pajamas with black leather shoes and socks. Though not all are sticking to it at the moment.
It's often said that more things change the more they remain the same. A new dress code - younger cleaner candidates - a tech savvy image - may go down well with the 21st century voter. But a party that was built on Lohia's socialist egalitarian dream has succumbed to the curse of dynastic politics.
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