Shivpal Yadav to contest 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP

Lucknow: Two days after announcing the formation of Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM), Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav, on Friday, said that his outfit would contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Yadav was in Baghpat on Friday where he said that ‘neglected’ leaders of the Samajwadi Party and other like-minded smaller parties would contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance.

Mr Yadav’s statement clearly indicated that he could get some of the 80 candidates from within the Samajwadi Party, particularly those who get left out in case of a grand alliance between SP and BSP. Mr Yadav, according to sources, also has an eye on candidates who do not get tickets in BSP and the Congress.

With the SSM making its debut in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, it is undoubtedly the Samajwadi Party that will face the pinch.

Both, Mr Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, draw their strength from the same vote bank of Yadav and Muslims. While the SSM leader enjoys the support of the elders in both the communities, Akhilesh Yadav banks on his image as a young leader and is backed by the youth in the two communities.

Mr Yadav, according to sources, also wields greater clout in the Samajwadi party organisation that he has built up from scratch along with elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav.

SSM leader’s announcement makes it almost clear that there is no room for rapprochement with the parent party.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav visited the party office for the second consecutive day on Friday. Earlier, he had visited the party office on Thursday to attend a prayer meeting for former MP Darshan Singh Yadav who died on Wednesday.

Mulayam Singh Yadav refused to comment on Mr Yadav’s decision to float another outfit. Interes-tingly, on both the days when Mulayam Singh Yadav visited the party office, SP president Akhilesh Yadav was not present. Akhilesh Yadav was on a tour in Uttarakhand.

 Shivpal Yadav, on the other hand, said that the SSM would work towards providing a political alternative and strengthen national unity. Further, he said that there was no personal enmity with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.

“I am only concerned about those who have been sidelined and humiliated in the party. These are people who have given their years for building up the party and deserve a better deal”, he said.