Mulayam Singh Yadav makes last-ditch attempt to unite SP cadre

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav made an impassioned appeal to party workers on Wednesday, saying, “Mere paas jo tha, woh poora ka poora de diya. Aur mere paas kuchh nahin hai. Sirf aap sab hain (I have given up everything I had. I have nothing left. I only have you)”.

He told them at the party office that he had made all possible efforts to keep the party united. “I even declared Akhilesh as the chief ministerial candidate. What more can I do? One person is trying to break the party”, he said, referring to Ram Gopal Yadav.

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav has been unwilling to give up the post of the party’s national president, which he wrested from his father early this month. While Mulayam Singh is backed by his brother Shivpal Yadav, his cousin Ram Gopal is on the CM’s side. Both factions have reached the Election Commission to stake claim to the party symbol, “bicycle”.

Meanwhile, the Akhilesh faction has started functioning independently. After announcing the appointment of a new state president and changing half-a-dozen district presidents, “national president” Akhilesh Yadav declared on Wednesday candidates for UP legislative council elections to be held on February 3.

In his speech, the patriarch claimed that the other group had applied for the name “Akhil Bhartiya Samajwadi Party” and “motorcycle” as its symbol. He however claimed that he would never let the party split. “The name and symbol of the party will not change. I told them (the other faction) not to stretch the dispute. I am not forming another party. They are the ones who are doing this”, he said.

In an obvious reference to Ram Gopal Yadav, he said, “Everyone knows who is trying to split the party. Had he asked me, I would have saved his son and daughter-in-law (from CBI). But he has met the president of another party (BJP) four times”.

“I have left my family to build this party. Shivpal has also worked very hard with me. He used to campaign all night and hide during the day to escape the police. He has been with me all through and has spent months in jail”, he said.

The SP office resounded with slogans like Netaji sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain as Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav left for Delhi where a final meeting with the Election Commission is scheduled for Friday.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s address to party workers on Wednesday made it clear that he was struggling to avert a split in the party.

The UP CM also wants the right to ticket distribution. Other major issues are related to the future role of Ram Gopal Yadav, Amar Singh, Shivpal Yadav and the cross petitions filed by the warring factions before the EC. Mulayam Singh Yadav has insisted on the removal of Ram Gopal Yadav, but Akhilesh Yadav has refused to oblige. The father is also against the CM’s move to remove Shivpal Yadav form the state president’s post and Amar Singh from the party.