All eyes are on Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s firefighting acumen after fresh infighting erupted in the party over selection of candidates for the Assembly polls. While Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has submitted his own list of 403 candidates, his uncle and State SP president Shivpal Yadav has already announced names of 175 candidates.
Taking serious note of the CM’s action, Shvipal Yadav retaliated by dismissing Akhilesh as the CM face of the party for the 2017 elections.
“As per the party’s constitution and established practice, elected MlAs would elect their leader and Mulayam Singh Yadav is the supreme leader and everybody abides by his decision,” said the State SP chief.
It was a departure from his earlier stand where Shivpal consistently maintained that Akhilesh will be SP’s chief ministerial face. SP sources are linking the change in Shivpal’s stand with his meeting with party general secretary Amar Singh in lucknow on Saturday. Akhilesh has already termed Singh as an ‘outsider’.
Shivpal Yadav also took to Twitter to express his displeasure over Akhilesh’ move and wrote in Hindi that “indiscipline will not be tolerated by the party”. He also tweeted, “So far tickets for 175 Assembly seats have been announced and the rest would be given depending on a candidate’s potential to win the election.”
Shivpal also wrote, “Who gets a ticket and who is denied, will be decided by the party and its senior leaders and Mulayam Singh will decide about on alliance with other parties.” SP sources said the remaining candidates are likely to be announced within this week.
On December 23 and 24, the Chief Minister had convened a meeting of his loyal MlAs at his official residence, which was attended by over 100 first-term MlAs. Assuring them about tickets, Akhilesh had asked them to go to their respective constituencies and prepare for the polls.
SP sources said that it was a show of strength by the CM and he had staged a similar show on October 23 by convening a meet of SP legislature party at his official residence.
Akhilesh was removed from the post of State SP chief in September. Since then, he has consistently maintained that he should have a role in ticket distribution as the party will go to polls under his stewardship and highlight achievements of his five-year Government.
SP sources said that with the CM submitting his list of candidates, the ball is now in Mulayam’s court. Earlier, the SP patriarch had suggested that both Shivpal and Akhilesh would decide candidates and he will take a final call.
Party insiders feel that Mualayam will have to find a middle path without losing any further time to avoid presence of parallel candidates in the fray.
This is not the first time that Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal have come to a head over ticket distribution. Akhilesh had expressed his opposition to fielding candidates with tainted background like Atiq Ahmed and Mokhtar Ansari’s brother Sibaqtullah Ansari and Afzal Ansari.
The Ansari brothers belong to Qaumi Ekta Dal, which recently merged with the SP despite Opposition from Akhilesh. The CM had also opposed ticket to Aman Mani Tripathi, presently in jail on charges of murdering his wife. He is the son of don-turned-politician Amar Mani Tripathi, also in jail after being convicted in Madhumita Shukla murder case.