Samajwadi Party poll list a blow for Akhilesh Yadav

The tussle within the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh reared its head again on Saturday when state president Shivpal Yadav released a list of 23 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections.

The list clearly bears the stamp of party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Singh Yadav. The objections raised by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav over some of the candidates have been overruled.

Mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s brother and sitting Qaumi Ekta Dal MLA Sigbatullah Ansari has been named the SP candidate from Mohammadabad in Ghazipur-a seat that he presently holds.

The Qaumi Ekta Dal’s merger into Samajwadi Party that had been stiffly opposed by the chief minister and  the issue clearly became the flashpoint of the family conflict that continues till date.

Another controversial name in the list is that of mafia don Ateeq Ahmad who has been fielded from Kanpur Cantt seat.

Ateeq Ahmad, an accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, is on Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘black list’ and he had even been pushed off the stage by the chief minister at a rally in Kaushambhi district, three months ago.

Though the SP has changed a few candidates, the name of Aman Mani Tripathi, who was recently arrested by the CBI for the murder of his wife Sara Singh, remains on the list. The chief minister did not ‘approve’ of his candidature and it was expected that the party would replace him after his arrest.

The SP has also fielded two turncoats who came in from the Bahujan Samaj Party. One of them is Hasanuddin Siddiqui, brother of BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui, who has been named for the Banda seat. Another candidate who recently joined SP after quitting BSP is Abdul Mannan who has been fielded from the Sandila seat.

Another significant candidate is Abdullah Azam, son of senior minister Mohd Azam Khan who will be making his political debut from Swar Tanda assembly seat in Rampur district.

Shivpal Singh Yadav, while releasing the list, said that winnability and loyalty to the party had been the main criteria in selecting candidates.

“Every seat counts if we have to return to power and these factors have governed the selection,” he said.

The chief minister was not available for his comment on the list.