Are 3 unhappy Yadavs cooking a new front?

Lucknow: Rendered almost irrelevant by recent upheavals in politics, the three veteran Yadav leaders – Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Lalu Yadav – are planning to join hands and assert themselves.

According to sources close to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, the senior most amongst the three leaders, has been in talks with Mr Sharad Yadav and Mr Lalu Yadav and the three leaders could come together to form a front of sorts.

Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav has already appealed to Mr Sharad Yadav to lead the battle against ‘fascist forces’ and a meeting between the two is likely in the coming days. Mr Shared Yadav has discussed the issue with Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi recently and Mr Shivpal Yadav was also present at the meeting.

The only hitch in the coming together of these leaders is the Congress. While Mr Sharad Yadav and Mr Lalu Yadav are keen on continuing their relationship with the Congress, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav is still averse to the idea. In fact, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav has recently inched closer to the BJP when he announced his support to the NDA candidate in the Presidential elections.

A Mulayam aide said, “We are trying to convince Netaji to give up his resistance to the Congress in larger interests. He is still a trusted leader among minorities and the BJP is openly targeting his Samajwadi Party by engineering defections. At the moment,  it is a question of the political survival of Netaji and all his supporters because it is apparent that there is no room left for him in the Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav”.

While Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav has been isolated in his own party by his son in Uttar Pradesh and his supporters in the party have started deserting the party for greener pastures, Mr Lalu Yadav and Mr Sharad Yadav have been left on no man’s land after Mr Nitish Kumar opted for an alliance with the BJP ton continue as chief minister.

A close associate of Mr Lalu Yadav in Lucknow said, “As far as I know him, he is unlikely to sit back and accept his fate. He thrives in adversity and all of us are confident that he will bounce back. I know something is cooking but it is too early to give a statement”.

Like the RJD , the Janata Dal (U) does not have any base in Uttar Pradesh but the two hope to mop up the disgruntled elements from the Samajwadi Party . “We can stop the disgruntled Samajwadis from going to the BJP if Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav agrees to lead from the front”, said a Mulayam loyalist.

Meanwhile Sunil Singh, president of the Lok Dal, reiterated his offer to hand over his party to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav. “The Lok Dal essentially belongs to socialist leaders and I will be only too happy if Netaji can take over the party and take it back to its original glory”, he said.