LUCKNOW: Changing his stance yet again, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has agreed to campaign for the party in UP. He said he would start canvassing for his brother Shivpal Yadav on February 9 in Jaswantnagar in Etawah district and then for son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
“I will start my UP campaign from Jaswantnagar on February 9 for Shivpal. I will campaign for Akhilesh later,” Mulayam told mediapersons in Delhi. Ex-SP state chief Shivpal is contesting on a party ticket from Jaswantnagar seat.
“Akhilesh is my son after all,” Mulayam said, adding that he would not only campaign for the Samajwadi Party but also for the Congress candidates in the state.
The SP patriarch had shocked party circles by expressing his displeasure over the SP-Congress alliance just a few hours after CM Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi firmed up the alliance. The SP patriarch had refused to campaign for the alliance in the state. And he went a step ahead by exhorting his supporters to ensure defeat of Congress candidates in the state.
However, the latest U-turn by Mulayam is sure to bring some relief to son Akhilesh who has been trying to placate Netaji after his Janaury 29 diatribe. Meanwhile, Mulayam’s move to kick off the campaign from Jaswantnagar is being viewed as an exercise to pacify his brother Shivpal who had said that he would form a new party after March 11.