A day after announcing his elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Samajwadi Secular Front candidate from Mainpuri, Shivpal Singh Yadav dared his nephew, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, to include the SSM in the proposed anti-Bharatiya Janata Party secular alliance if he was sincere in his fight against the saffron party.
"If Akhilesh Yadav is sincere and true to his commitment to secularism and fight against the 'communal BJP', the Samajwadi Secular Morcha should be included in the proposed alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party," Shivpal said here on Sunday.
Shivpal, who founded the Samajwadi Secular Morcha recently, said he was ready to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, except the Mainpuri seat, if his suggestion was not met.
"If he (Akhilesh) talks of fighting against the communal BJP, the SSM should be included in the proposed alliance between SP and BSP. Even if I am not included in the proposed alliance, it will be an opportunity for my Morcha as we will get support on seats left by the SP for BSP and others. All samajwadis will unite with us and we will win 20-30 seats," he said.
About his relations with SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal said, "I have his blessings. I am offering party president's post to him and also ticket from Mainpuri."
On his position in the newly-formed SSM, Shivpal said, "I am its convenor. If 'Netaji' (Mulayam) does not accept the presidentship of the SSM, we will discuss it later."
When asked about his future course of action, Shivpal said, "We are strengthening the Samajwadi Secular Morcha. Its district and state units are to be constituted. People are coming to us in good numbers. I am looking for space for the party, which is yet to be registered with the Election Commission. The party flag is also to be to finalised."
Shivpal, the SP MLA from Jaswantnagar in Etawah, denied that he was resigning his membership of the Vidhan Sabha.
"I am not going to resign from the Assembly. It is up to the Samajwadi Party to decide. They are free to initiate action against me," he said.
Stating that he was open for alliance with like-minded" parties, Shivpal said, "I had talks with senior leader Sharad Yadav and others...There is no enemy in politics. I am even open for an alliance with Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party."
On Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh's statement that he had fixed Shivpal's meeting with a senior BJP leader but he did not turn up, the SSM convenor said, "You see...then they (SP) would have charged me with joining hands with the BJP".
Asked from where he was planning to contest the next Lok Sabha poll, the SSM convenor said, "I can contest from anywhere. The party workers will decide it in future".
He said he had formed the SSM to protect his "honour" and not seek any post in the Samajwadi Party.
"I never wanted to part ways (with the Samajwadi Party). I only wanted honour, which I did not get after the change of leadership in the party. I never wanted any post. I took this step (of forming the SSM) out of compulsion to protect my honour," he said.