Former Chief Minister and Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav was unanimously elected as the leader of the SP legislature Party in both the Houses of the State legislature. He was elected as the leader of the legislature party in the meeting of the party MlAs and MlCs held here on Tuesday. The meeting of the party legislators also authorised Akhilesh Yadav to name the leader of Opposition in the State legislative council.
Shivpal Yadav, the uncle of Akhilesh and senior Samajwadi party leader Azam Khan were conspicuous by their absence. Both the leaders were front-runners for the post of the leader of Opposition in State Assembly. Though Shivpal Yadav locked in a bitter feud with his nephew, Akhilesh had declared after the Assembly elections results were announced that he was not in the race, Azam had no such intentions and he was in the race.
Akhilesh had, however, chosen the senior SP leader from Ballia Ram Govind Chowdhary as the leader of opposition in Assembly. Earlier on March 16 the newly elected MlAs of the party had authorised the national president to name the leader of opposition. The SP had won 47 seats in State Assembly in recently concluded elections.
After the joint meeting of the party MlAs and MlCs at the State office of the Samajwadi Party, the party spokesman Rajendra chowdhary said here that the meeting of the legislators also authorised the national president to decide on the leader of Opposition in the Upper House of the State legislature.
Presently senior SP leader Ahmed Hasan is the leader of the party in council. Akhilesh Yadav is likely to take over as the leader and by implication the leader of opposition in legislative council. SP has clear majority in the upper house and the Chairman of the council Ramesh Yadav is also from the Samajwadi Party.
later addressing the meeting of the party legislators Akhilesh Yadav said `` the BJP has introduced a new kind of political corruption in state politics by winning the assembly elections, they have no vision for the development of the state and won the elections by misleading the people in an organised manner and the people were swayed by it’’. He said with the rise of the RSS, this organisation is implementing its agenda in the country which is posing a grave threat to the secular fabric of the country.
Refusing to acknowledge the worst ever poll debacle of the party in assembly elections akhilesh Yadav said `` the people of the state would soon feel the difference between the government which delivered on its promises and the government based on false promises’’.
“Victory and defeat of the parties in elections are an integral part of the democratic politics, UP assembly election was fought on issues other than development and public interest’’ said Akhilesh Yadav adding “SP government launched many welfare schemes for the common which other states were forced to copy still we lost the elections’’. Countering the charges of rampant corruption during his government Akhilesh said: “My government spend the money only in schemes of peoples interest and we curbed the corruption and wasteful expenditure of the public money’’. He urged the party leaders and legislators to devote all their time and energy in the membership drive for enrolling new members in the party and the party would fight the BJP government on the issues of public interest and continue the campaign against injustice and corruption. Meanwhile the dinner party organised by the party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence for the newly elected MlAs on Wednesday has been cancelled.