New Delhi:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced schemes worth crores in the last 24 hours, racing to beat the Model Code of Conduct that came into force after the announcement of the national election dates this morning.
Mr Yadav went on a flurry of project launches and announcements just 45 minutes before the Election Commission announced the poll days.
Events were scheduled before the Election Commission's press conference at 10.30 a.m.
On Tuesday, the 40-year-old launched power and water projects worth a staggering Rs 15,000 crore. Earlier the same day, his father, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, had publicly rebuked him for slow progress on schemes, prefacing his remarks with "
Aye Mukhyamantri! Sun lo! (Chief Minister! Listen)
The Chief Minister had reportedly made a false start earlier when there was talk of the poll dates being announced on Monday. He had apparently timed some project launches before a possible Election Commission briefing, but ended up with an extra day.
Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous and politically crucial state with 80 Lok Sabha seats that hold the key to power at the Centre.
Akhilesh Yadav came to power in 2012 with a massive mandate but within two years, his Samajwadi Party is seen to have lost much of the goodwill over allegations of corruption, arrogance and lawlessness.