Samajwadi party is bracing for yet another round of battle within the first family of the party over the distribution of the tickets for the next assembly elections. The latest salvo, indicating escalation of the battle, has been fired by Ram Gopal Yadav, party leader in Rajya Sabha.
Ram Gopal Yadav said he will take the final call in deciding the party tickets for the assembly election. ``I will have an important role in deciding the tickets. The tickets are decided by the parliamentary board of the party, that will need final approval by me’’, Ram Gopal Yadav said in Etawah on Monday. Ram Gopal Yadav was expelled from the party in October and he was readmitted in the party days before the commencement of the winter session of the parliament. On MondayShvipal Yadav had also said that candidates for the 165 assembly seats have been finalised while the process for the rest of the seats in on. He had said the survey is being conducted on the sitting seats and then seats held by the ministers and the tickets will be decided as per the inputs received from each assembly constituency. Shvipal Yadav maintained that the winniability will be the sole criterion for the selection of the candidates. Shivpal Yadav did not say about the role of the chief minister in the selection of the candidates.
The categorical assertion by Ram Gopal Yadav has particularly perturbed the camp followers of state president of the SP Shivpal Yadav. Ram Gopal Yadav is solidly behind the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav—who is locked in a bitter battle with his uncle Shivpal Yadav for the supremacy in the party. Akhilesh Yadav, who was the state president of the party since June 2009 was removed in September last and replaced by his uncle Shivpal Yadav. A month later Akhilesh Yadav retaliated and dismissed Shivpal Yadav from the cabinet. Chief Minister had also dismissed three other ministers identified as camp followers of Shivpal Yadav.
Even after being stripped of the post of state president, Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has repeatedly asserted that he wants a decisive role in the process of the selection of the candidates for the next assembly elections. CM maintained that since he is the face of the party in the election and he will face the scrutiny by the people so he be given his due share in power for the selection of the candidates.
Samajwadi party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in October for strengthening his hold on the party and curbing the feud had worked out a formula that Shivpal Yadav will decided the candidates in consultation with Akhilesh Yadav and the matter will be referred to him for the final approval. As the election date approaches the patience of both the camps seems to be wearing thin and both the camps are preparing for yet another round of the showdown over the selection of candidates. Samajwadi party sources said if immediate steps are not taken by the party supremo then the battle within the family could escalate yet again and would be detrimental for the electoral prospects of the party.