Indeed, four months may not be such a long time in power, but those who voted the Samajwadi Party to power are now impatient and are demanding results with some much-promised action, as they see a slide back and loss of momentum in government functioning at all levels in the most populated state of India with the maximum number of problems and MPs.
"The political direction of Mulayam Singh Yadav's party is not clear. It has been running with the hare and hunting with the hound. It went with the opposition to protest fuel price hike through Bharat Bandh, but supports the UPA government. The party is still not clear about its choice of the presidential candidate. By supporting the Congress at the centre, the Samajwadi Party will only be eroding its base in UP," says a former Mulayam Bhakt.
Members of the India Against Corruption say "in UP the corruption level is very high in all government departments. The state government has not yet declared its intent or a road-map for a new and transparent governance.
The Samajwadi Party leadership has still to come clean on the Anna Agenda. The party has not spelt out how corruption would be contained in the government sector.
UP's higher education scenario is in an alarming state calling for structural changes.
"The worst example one can give is of the Agra University where everything is in a rotten state, but the new dispensation has shown no interest whatsoever to inject a degree of urgency in reforms," notes a student leader Pavan Kumar. "Remember the Anna Impact virtually vanquished Congress in UP," says activist Shravan Kumar Singh.
The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bhartiya Janata Party have now come out openly and taken the ruling party to task for what they claim "a fast deteriorating law and order situation."
"With so many experienced leaders in the party we thought the party leadership had done enough home work and would launch an immediate assault on some of the vexing problems that the state has been grappling with. It is clear that Akhilesh Yadav is taking his own time and does not want to be seen in a hurry to act on his agenda without groundwork, knowing fully well the limitations of his party organization," says political activist and a former socialist leader of Agra Vinay Paliwal.
"Going by past experience, one feels decision-making would not be so easy, and for sure chief minister-ship of as large a state as UP, is not going to be a easy cake walk," added an eco-activist Ravi Singh.
So far the only decisions taken relate to transfers of police officials and some administrative heads. "The favorites are in and those suspected of links with the previous regime are out there in the limbo," observes Dr. VP Singh, an academic. More than 3000 IAS, PCS officials have been transferred. The accusation is that the favorites have been rewarded with plum postings.
The unemployed, old and young, men and women, have been queuing up Employment Exchanges in thousands in all the cities of the state in the hope of getting the dole, but so far there has been no clear cut policy pronouncement. "They should have thought about these things when making promises. The laptops and tablets and all sorts of monetary benefits to girls are still dreams that have to be translated into action," says home-maker Padmini.
The environmentalists particularly who have had high hopes from Akhilesh Yadav, (he holds a PG degree in environment) are a little disappointed as the Samajwadi Party has so far made no commitments or given any indications of how rivers in UP have to be cleaned up and from where the increased demand for water would be met, says Wake Up Agra president Shishir Bhagat who recently organized Trash Clean Up programme at the Yamuna banks.
"The biggest challenge for the ruling party would be to restore a degree of sanity on roads. Most cities in UP are suffering from increasing encroachments on roads and public land. The encroachers have political patronage. From where will Akhilesh Yadav begin and how will he ensure the cities remain beehives of planned development," wonder social activists Dr. Anand Rai and Sudershan Dua.
Akhilesh has to urgently address issues that inhibit industrial growth. The vast Army of unemployed university graduates has to be inducted into the system. Power, water supply and the sad state of roads are other issues that call for urgent redressal. The law and order situation has received attention but fundamental restructuring in the policing system are long-verdue.
Elections to the local bodies are scheduled this month. "The Lok Sabha elections could also be held earlier than 2014 and this will also limit the chief minister's maneuverability. Also in the upper house in UP assembly the BSP still has a majority, which means law making could be held up," points out Paras Nath Choudhary, a political commentator in Ghaziabad.
It is a huge responsibility and a big opportunity for Akhilesh Yadav to steer the direction-less state towards the goal of accelerated growth and development, but does he have the right human resources to implement his agenda? This is the big question being debated in the towns and the hinterland. "He has excited too many hopes and if he fails to deliver the backlash of frustration and disappointment could disturb the equilibrium," fears an old Lohiate Sachchendra Kumar Singh.
"So far we have no idea what sort of Samajwad (Socialism) Akhilesh Yadav will usher in. The party swears by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. Implementing his ideas would be a Himalayan challenge for this 38-year old CM. The starting point should be sensitizing and re-orienting the mind-set of the rank and file. All sorts of people have joined the bandwagon in the hope of making it big in whatever way. How a control mechanism is devised to keep the local leaders and the members of the party in discipline, would indeed test the leadership qualities of Akhilesh Yadav," comments a former socialist leader Ram Kishore of Lucknow.
