After over four hours of deliberations, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday reserved its order on the dispute over the Samajwadi Party’s electoral symbol ‘Cycle’ even as the two factions of the party, led by founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, took on each other in the EC by fielding top legal brains to stake their respective claims. The EC is likely to announce its decision on Monday.
Maintaining that there was no split in the party, but the January 1 national convention held by Ram Gopal Yadav and Akhilesh was “illegal”, Mulayam left it to the EC to take a call on the symbol.
The Akhilesh camp, however, strongly argued that since majority of the party’s MlAs and office-bearers had pledged their support to it, the party symbol rightfully belonged to it.
While Mulayam himself appeared before the EC to present his faction’s view, Akhilesh did not personally appear before the panel. He was represented by his uncle Ram Gopal, senior leader Naresh Agarwal and Kiranmoy Nanda. Congress leader Kapil Sibal too was present in his capacity as a lawyer along with Supreme Court lawyer Rajiv Dhawan and Devendra Upadhyay.
The argument that started at noon continued in the post-lunch session and lasted for hours.
The two sides had separate lunches with the Akhilesh camp going to SP leader Neeraj Shekhar’s residence and the Mulayam faction preferring to have meal at the SP patriarch’s residence. After the hearing at the commission, Sibal told reporters that the EC had heard both factions and had reserved its verdict.
During the first part of the hearing, Sibal and Dhawan argued that the majority of MPs, MlAs and MlCs as well as SP delegates were with Akhilesh. Sibal also told the EC that Akhilesh was now the president of the SP and so the party symbol belonged to him.
On the other hand, Mulayam claimed that the convention in which Akhilesh was anointed as the party chief was against the SP’s constitution. The Mulayam camp also argued that since no resolution was passed at the convention called by Ram Gopal removing Mulayam as the party president, para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 did not apply in the case.
Appearing for Mulayam, former Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran argued that since there was “no vertical split in the party such as SP (Mulayam) and SP (Akhilesh),” the commission lacked jurisdiction to allocate the symbol to one of the groups. Team Mulayam also filed an affidavit saying that the Akhilesh camp filed a forged affidavit which should be verified.
The claim was countered by the Akhilesh camp which said that in one of the letters addressed to the commission, Mulayam loyalist Amar Singh has used the term ‘splinter group’ and that both sides were before the poll panel staking a claim over the symbol which indicates a ‘dispute’.
Gauri Naulankar, one of the lawyers representing the SP supremo said, “Mulayam has made it clear to the EC that there is no split in the party... The Akhilesh camp has not made a submission to suggest that the party is split... Mulayam Singh continues to be the sole claimant of the ‘Cycle’ symbol since he is the national president.”
Sources in the EC said that no one argued for freezing the symbol, which is one of the options available with the commission. The side which has the support of majority (50 per cent plus 1) MPs, MlAs, MlCs and delegates will gain an upper hand in the fight to control the party founded 25 years ago. The election for phase one in UP is on February 11.
After the split in the party last week, both sides had submitted signed affidavits of legislators and office bearers to claim control over the party’s name and symbol. The symbol could be frozen before the Assembly polls in UP if the EC is not able to decide which of the two factions commands the majority in the organisation.