LUCKNOW: Another patch-up bid between the warring factions of the Samajwadi Party came a cropper on Tuesday as even after a 90-minute meeting, CM Akhilesh Yadav and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav failed to resolve their difference to go into the election unitedly.
Hope for a possible reconciliation gained ground on Monday night after Mulayam declared that his son Akhilesh would become the CM if Samajwadi Party came to power after the seven-phase elections. But all the hopes dashed yet again after Tuesday meeting as both father and son remained adamant on their respective stands.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has said that it would hear both the warring side on January 13 to decide which side gets the bicycle symbol. Although there were no official words about the details of the meeting, inside sources say that party presidentship was the biggest bone of contention between the two.
While Mulayam wanted Akhilesh to give up his claim to the post of party president, the latter was defiant and has refused to budge. Akhilesh was declared party president by a special national convention called by sacked SP leader and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav on January 1, 2017.
The same national convention had appointed Mulayam party mentor and patron. As per the highly places party sources, Akhilesh, equipped with the support of a vast majority of the party (207 MLAs, 56 MLCs, 4 Lok Sabha members, 15 Rajya Sabha members besides 4700 party delegates) has made it clear to Mulayam that he would not give up party’s national presidentship for the next three months till the elections were over.
Interestingly, Mulayam, realising that the majority support was siding with Akhilesh, had offered to authorise him with signing the ticket distribution document to which the latter did not agree, said the sources.
It may be recalled that at the last national executive meeting on October 24, Akhilesh Yadav was ready to relinquish all party posts in lieu of an active role and say in party’s ticket distribution exercise. But the party state unit chief Shivpal finalised the party candidates keeping him out of the loop.
Even most of Akhilesh’s loyalist were denied tickets and a lot of tainted faces were included in the list much to Chief minister’s dismay. This made Akhilesh wary of the ways of Mulayam’s close associates including ‘chacha’ Shivpal and ‘uncle’ Amar Singh who the CM has termed an outsider and the reason for for fierce family feud.
At January 1 national convention, Shivpal was removed from the post of party’s state unit chief and Amar Singh was sacked from the party. On the issue of withdrawing letters of party supporters from EC and go into polls as one party unit, it is believed that Akhilesh asked his father to take a lead as he was the one who approached the EC first.
However, on Monday, ahead of meeting the Election Commission, Mulayam had claimed that there was no rift in the party and that it was united.
Repeating the same stand, Mulayam had said on Monday night that Akhilesh would be the next same and he would embark upon party’s campaign trail soon and all the party men would work unitedly to ensure victory of party candidates.