Johnson Cherian.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav may have snatched the leadership of the Samajwadi Party and firmed up an alliance with the Congress, but the primary obstacle to his campaign continues to be his father, Mulayam Singh.
And this was clear in his cautious responses to the Yadav patriarch’s threat that he would not campaign for the alliance as he was opposed to aligning with the Congress in principle.
A day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and he took out a collective road show in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav on Monday stressed on the winning prospects of the tie-up.
Speaking at a rally in Etah, not too far from the Yadav bastion of Etawah-Mainpuri, Mr. Yadav said he was “sure” his father would campaign for the alliance. “He [Mulayam] will be most happy and most honoured if SP and Congress come to power in the State,” the CM said. Mr. Mulayam Singh is already listed among the SP’s star campaigners while his brother, and Akhilesh’s bête noire, Shivpal is not.
Mr. Yadav also said the bicycle (the SP’s symbol) had been strengthened by the cooperation of the hand (the Congress’s symbol). Later, Mr. Yadav told a television channel that though he was confident that his party would win the elections on its own, the alliance with the Congress would ensure a bigger margin of victory.
Hours after Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Yadav on Sunday held a joint press conference as a show of unity, Mr. Mulayam Singh went on air to declare that he was against the alliance, putting the SP in a spot of bother. “The SP is completely capable of fighting elections on its own. When we fought alone, we got a majority. There was no need for an alliance. I am against this electoral alliance. I will not campaign for this alliance.”
He also tried to press hard his past efforts for Muslims and his long-held struggle against the Congress. “There were many issues on which we had to struggle against them [Congress]. Be it the [Babri] Masjid issue or issues like fake encounters — there were many such deaths at one time. Congress ruled for so long and that’s why our country lagged behind,” Mr. Singh said.
Significantly, he also said he would appeal his supporters to campaign against the Congress on the 105 seats it was fighting on as part of the alliance with the SP.
SP leaders were left to explain the worth of Mr. Mulayam Singh’s comments as any defiance by the senior Yadav could play a spoiler in Akhilesh Yadav’s game. SP spokesperson Juhi Singh played it safe. “We have full respect in our hearts for Netaji. We understand his ideology and views. But the alliance is done and the alliance will fight the elections,” she said.
This came at a time when the defections from the SP continued. Sharda Pratap Shukla, a minister from Lucknow, rebelled against Mr. Yadav and filed his nomination from the RLD. This came a day after another senior Mulayam aide and former minister Narad Rai, who was shunted out by the U.P. Chief Minister, shifted to the BSP and will now fight on its ticket from Ballia. He joins Ambika Chaudhary, another member of the old guard who recently defected to the BSP alleging that Mr. Yadav had disrespected his father. Mr. Rai, who is close to Shivpal Singh too, also said that he took the decision in view of the “insult” meted out to his father.
SP minister Rajendra Chaudhary, who is close to Akhilesh Yadav, however said that defections of a few MLAs would not harm the party, as the party was “overall on top.”
The BJP, meanwhile, attempted to take advantage of the apparent disquiet between Mulayam and Akhilesh. Union Minister Mahesh Sharma, while terming the alliance “unbalanced,” backed Mulayam’s remarks saying the Yadav patriarch had spoken the “truth.” “Akhilesh Yadav should be asked the reason behind the alliance with a party that has lost its ground not only in the State but also the country,” Mr. Sharma told a news agency.
BSP chief Mayawati had on Sunday termed the SP-Congress alliance a “conspiracy” hatched under the instructions of the BJP to “stop the BSP from coming to power at any cost.”
