UP latest roundup: Mulayam scraps Jan 5 meeting amid fears of poor numbers

Here's a roundup of the latest in the ever-spinning story of the father-son tussle in the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

1. Rival camps claim cycle symbol

The battle has shifted to Delhi with the Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav supporters reaching Delhi to lobby the Election Commission (EC) for the cycle of the Samajwadi party (SP). With elections to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly likely to be called any day now, the symbol is crucial

2.Cycle symbol is ours: Mulayam

SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "The cycle symbol is ours," and asked party cadres to focus on winning the Assembly elections. His camp is likely to meet senior EC officials between 4 pm and 5 pm in Delhi today.

3. Akhilesh meets his confidants

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who yesterday sought to take control of the party, was closeted with his confidants and is expected to meet party leaders and legislators at this residence in Lucknow. Sources said Ram Gopal Yadav might represent Akhilesh when he takes up the symbol issue with the EC.
 
3.Mulayam postpones January 5 party convention

Neither the Yadav bossman nor his brother, Shivpal Yadav gave any reasons why the party's convention scheduled for January 5 has been cancelled. Insiders said perhaps the Mulayam camp is apprehensive about a poor turnout compared to the massive gathering at the convention held by Akhilesh Yadav's supporters yesterday. That convention removed Mulayam Singh as the SP chief.

4. Shivpal says Mulayam is still the boss

In a series of tweets, SP leader Shivpal Yadav, the warring uncle of Akhilesh, maintained that Mulayam continues to be the national president of the party. The Samajwadi Party was yesterday split down the middle with the faction headed by Akhilesh removing Mulayam as the party chief and appointing the chief minister in his place. Shivpal, who has been removed as the UP unit chief of SP by the Akhilesh camp, said, "I will be with Mulayam till my last breath," he said upon arrival in Delhi.

5. Amar Singh is back from London

The man at the centre of the storm, Amar Singh, and Shivpal reached Delhi this morning to finetune the strategy to ensure that the symbol remains with Mulayam. Talking to reporters, Amar Singh said, "I was and will remain with Mulayam Singh Yadav. I was a hero but I am now ready to become a khalnayak [villain] for him."

Asked about his expulsion from the party by the Akhilesh camp, Amar Singh said he would be "hurt" only if Mulayam said anything against him.

6. Akhilesh man says Akhilesh is CM candidate

Expelled SP national vice-president, Kiranmoy Nanda said today that Mulayam is the leader of all Samajwadis but the Assembly polls would be contested under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav. "Netaji [Mualayam] is the leader of all of us samajwadis. We will contest the Assembly polls under our national president Akhilesh Yadav, who is our chief minister and has done a lot of work for the state," Nanda was sacked by Mulayam from the party for attending Ram Gopal's convention yesterday.