Amidst raging controversy over the suspension of an IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal for taking on sand mafia, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav were in Bangalore on a two-day visit.
Yadav junior and senior were attending an iftar party in Bangalore, giving way to political speculation of luring political parties including KJP of Yeddyurappa. They also held a party convention on Monday at Chitradurga in central Karnataka, where a sizeable Yadav population is expected to support SP. Mulayam Singh Yadav told media that no political party can form the Government without the support of Samajwadi Party at the Centre in the 2014 elections. He also ruled out any pre-electoral alliance with any combination or party for the ensuing lok Sabha elections.
In a sudden political development, KJP president and lingayat strongman BS Yeddyurappa surprised many by meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav in Bangalore. This led to speculation that Yeddyurappa, who has not been able to join BJP so far, might be exploring the possibility of joining Third Front to keep his political identity intact. A close aide of Yeddyurappa told The Pioneer that dejected by the no response from the BJP leaders in Delhi including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for a smooth come back to BJP, Yeddyurappa was testing the waters to join Third Front, to decimate the saffron party further in the ensuing general elections. However, Yeddyurappa told the media that it was a courtesy visit to meet the leaders.
Addressing the party convention at Chitradurga, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav batted for Third Front and said that Third Front would emerge victorious. He said, “No party will be able to get majority in the upcoming lS polls. Neither the Congress nor the BJP will be able to get majority. The Third Front will emerge victorious. Anti-Congress and anti-BJP wave is quite prominent throughout the country, including — West Bengal, TN, Punjab and UP”.
“The SP is the biggest party in Third Front. UP has 80 Parliament seats. The Samajwadi Party has its Government in UP and enjoys the support of the people. So, Uttar Pradesh will play an important role in the upcoming polls,” he added. Yadav also used the occasion to laud the achievements of Akhilesh Yadav-led Government in Uttar Pradesh. Asserting that Karnataka holds an important place in his heart, Yadav further said that it was he, who proposed HD Deve Gowda’s name for the Prime Minister’s post.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh had on Sunday rubbished the allegations by the Opposition parties that the suspension of Gautam Budh Nagar sub-divisional magistrate had come under pressure from the mining mafia. He said the step was taken because there was a possibility of communal tension brewing up in the area. “There are many such incidents where there is a chance of communal tension erupting, it becomes necessary to take certain administrative decision to prevent it. Therefore, we have taken this decision,” he told reporters.
On Sunday, Mulayam Singh Yadav had also flayed the decision of the UPA Government for its decision to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh. He said, “It would weaken the country. Our party would vote it out if the Telangana bill was tabled in the Parliament. The decision to divide Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam would weaken the country”.
Akhilesh said, “The SP would field candidates for the upcoming lok Sabha elections for two to five seats in the State. The seats would be decided by the State party unit. By winning the Channapatna Assembly seat we began well in Karnataka.” Former Union Railway Minister CK Jaffer Sharief and Congress legislator Roshan Baig felicitated both Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav.