The battle in the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan shifted to Delhi with rival camps approaching the Election Commission to retain control over the Samajwadi Party’s ‘cycle’ symbol.
The SP patriarch, along with expelled leaders Shivpal Yadav, Amar Singh and former lok Sabha MP Jaya Prada, met the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners on Monday to stake claim on the party’s symbol. On their way to the EC’s office, Mulayam, Shivpal and Amar Singh shared the same car.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav are slated to call on the poll panel to make the same claim on Tuesday. The SP national convention on Sunday appointed Akhilesh as the national president of the party in place of Mulayam.
Interestingly, Chief Election Commissioner Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi is an UP cadre IAS officer and had served under Mulayam for long.
EC sources said that while all the aspects were discussed between the commission officials and leaders for about half an hour, the EC would take a call only after listening to the SP factions and scrutinising relevant documents.
“I am still the president of Samajwadi Party and the decision of the rival camp to appoint Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as the party chief is against the party’s constitution,” Mulayam told the EC.
Claiming to have the backing of the SP Parliamentary Board, Mulayam told the poll panel the election symbol of ‘cycle’ belonged to him as he was the party president, sources said.
Mulayam told the commission that Ram Gopal Yadav, who had moved a resolution at the emergency convention of the SP in lucknow anointing Akhilesh as party president, had been expelled from the party and was not authorised to take any decision, sources said.
Sources in the commission said it will follow Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 to proceed on the dispute. It gave power to the commission “in relation to splinter groups or rival sections of a recognised political party”.
“Both the sides will have to stake claim over the symbol otherwise how would the EC know that there is a dispute...We don’t go by media reports,” said an EC official.
The commission could ask both sides to pick a new party name and symbol in the interim if the existing symbol ‘cycle’ is frozen.
In a series of tweets, SP leader Shivpal Yadav, the warring uncle of Akhilesh, maintained that Mulayam is the SP national president even now.
Talking to reporters after returning from london, Amar Singh said, “I was and will remain with Mulayam Singh Yadav. I was a hero but I am now ready to become a khalnayak (villain) for him.”
Asked about his expulsion from the party by the Akhilesh camp, Amar said he would only be “hurt” if Mulayam said anything against him.
Meanwhile in lucknow, Akhilesh had a busy day holding talks with party MlAs and the candidates for the next Assembly elections. He also met party workers who assembled in thousands at his official residence.
Assuring the rank and file of the party that all was well within the family and the party, Akhilesh asked the leaders and cadres to go back to their respective constituencies and concentrate on the success of the party candidates.
“Party workers should now go to their respective constituencies and start campaigning sincerely for the party,” the CM tweeted.
SP sources said the expulsion of youth leaders like Mohammad Abad, Pradeep Tewari and MlCs like Sunil Yadav, Anand Bhadauriya, Sanjay lathar, Udaiveer Singh and Arvind Yadav was likely to be revoked soon.
Meanwhile, leaders from the Shivpal camp are making a beeline for the Chief Minister’s residence for making peace with Akhilesh. The three Ministers close to Shivpal who were dismissed from the Cabinet in October last year - Om Prakash Singh, Shadab Fatima and Narad Rai - have sought time for meeting Akhilesh. Sources said the Chief Minister is likely to meet the former Ministers on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Kironmoy Nanda, Rajya Sabha MP and national vice-president of the party who was expelled from the SP reportedly by Mulayam Singh on Sunday, said the orders for his expulsion were fake and unconstitutional.
“I can easily identify the signature of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The e-signature is fake! Mulayam Singh Yadav is my leader and I will continue to adore him as my leader all my life,” he said.
Nanda also criticized Amar Singh saying, “This man has returned from london only to destroy the party where he has no stake and for him the Samajwadi Party is merely a tool to promote his business interests’’.
In a related development, the Mulayam camp cancelled the proposed emergency national convention of the SP here on January 5. The call for the convention was issued on Sunday following the election of Akhilesh as the national president of the party during the emergency national convention.
SP sources said the Mulayam camp was forced to call off the convection as there was little possibility of any prominent leader turning up for the event.
The Mulayam camp was also apprehensive that the State Government would deny permission for the convention at the Janeshwar Mishra Park, which is under the control of the lucknow Development Authority.
The Mulayam camp also considered the option of holding the convention in Delhi, but fearing a poor turnout and loss of face, the idea was dropped.
As of now, Mulayam seems to be isolated in the party as most cadre and officials have joined Akhilesh’s camp.