A day after skipping an Iftar party at the state office of Samajwadi Party, patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav attended a dinner hosted by Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath at his official residence in the honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night.
The PM is in town to attend International Yoga Day function in lucknow on Wednesday. Yogi Adityanath has also extended invitation to two former Chief Ministers –Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.
Mulayam Singh Yadav has already extended the support of his party for the NDA’s presidential candidate with the rider that the candidate should not be a strong Saffron face and acceptable to all. Union Home minister Rajnath Singh and Union Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu had spoken to Mulayam Singh in this regard on June 16.
Mulayam’s stand on the pressidential candidate is seen as a big setback for the Congress-led 17 opposition parties and also his and SP chief son Akhilesh Yadav.
The Opposition is struggling to select a unanimous candidate for the President. Contrary to his father’s stand, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has announced to go with the joint candidate of 17 Opposition parties and is likely to attend a meeting in this regard in Delhi on June 212 to be chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
On Tuesday, Mulayam Singh praised NDA’s presidential pick and former Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind.
“The BJP has given a good candidate for the top post. I have old ties with Kovindji. The BJP has the required number to get its candidate elected and even if they are short, they are capable of mobilizing the required numbers and get their candidate elected,’’ said Mulayam Singh. The SP patriarch feigned ignorance about efforts of Opposition parties to field a unanimous candidate. “I cannot say what the Opposition will decide,’’ said the veteran leader.
Mulayam Singh was ousted from the post of national president of SP by his son Akhilesh Yadav on January 1 this year. Both Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav had approached Election Commission of India and the poll panel upheld the election of Akhilesh Yadav as the national SP president