By Vivek Tripathi

Lucknow, Sep 30 (IANS): Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is eyeing young voters to return to power in the state. Akash Anand, the nephew of BSP Chief Mayawati and Kapil Mishra, the son of BSP General Secretary Satish Mishra, are working hard to woo young voters towards the party.

Mayawati had appointed Akash Anand as the BSP National Coordinator in 2020. Since then he has been continuously active in promoting the party's agenda. He previously took part in the 2017 UP Assembly elections. At present, the BSP is busy preparing for the 2022 election and he is likely to play a significant role. He is known to be actively promoting the party in Delhi and Punjab. Recently, Akash held several public rallies in Punjab.

He recently also met the sister of BSP Founder Kanshi Ram.

The reins of this outreach programme to youth will be handled by Satish Chandra Mishra's son Kapil Mishra and will talk about the development work undertaken during Mayawati's tenure as the Chief Minister. Along with it a strategy is being worked out to connect youth with the BSP so that the party gains an edge over other parties in the elections.

A BSP leader said the party will move forward promoting young leaders and will give party tickets to a large number of youth leaders in the party to fight the Assembly polls.

Akash Anand and Kapil Mishra are constantly encouraging young BSP leaders through social media. A youth interaction programme has been prepared which will be held in all 18 mandals across the state led by Kapil Mishra. Akash will also be a part of this programme at several places. He is also eyeing to strengthen the party's political base in Punjab.

He said the youth dialogue initiative will mainly focus on youngsters who are going to vote for the first time in the state. Kapil Mishra will communicate with the youth of Kanpur, Kannauj and Lucknow. He will point out the work done for the welfare of youth during the BSP regime and outline the good work the party will do for them after coming to power.

Kapil Mishra will impart knowledge about the significance and negative aspects of social media. He clearly says that the youth need to use social media openly.

The BSP leader says that ahead of the 2022 UP polls, 50 per cent of youth leaders will be given tickets for which feedback is being sought from the general public. The list of poll candidates is being prepared. Those party workers would be given a chance who are dedicated to the party.

Former UP minister and senior BSP leader Nakul Dubey says that the youth have a bigger responsibility in taking forward the state. Keeping this in mind, the party is focusing on the youth. The party is paying attention on how to take the youth forward and create employment opportunities for them in the state.