Akhilesh rides away with Samajwadi Party on 'bicycle', Mulayam left behind

Lucknow: Dealing a severe blow to Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Election Commission today gave the symbol 'Bicycle' to the faction headed by Akhilesh Yadav, recognising it as the Samajwadi Party that came as a major boost to the Chief Minister ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

A mere look at the figures of supporting MLAs, MLCs and MPs, National Executive members and National Convention delegates "will evidently demonstrate that Shri Akhilesh Yadav enjoys overwhelming majority support, both among the organisational and legislative wing of the party", the EC said in its order that was reserved on Friday.

The verdict by the three-member Election Commission headed by Nasim Zaidi came on the eve of the filing of nominations when parties will have to give the requisite forms authorising use of symbol to contest the elections.

The EC had reserved the order on January 13 after hearing both the sides for over five hours.

The order set off jubilation in the Chief Minister's camp with hordes of supporters marching to his residence and breaking into celebrations, bursting fire crackers and dancing to the beat of drums.

Welcoming the decision, SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh's uncle and the main strategist of his group, expressed the hope that a grand secular alliance will be formed to fight the elections, an apparent reference to a tie-up with Congress and some other outfits.

"As a logical consequence of the above finding and applying the test of majority approved by the Supreme Court in the case of Sadiq Ali and consistently applied by the Commission thereafter in all cases of disputes in recognised political parties arising before it from time to time for determination in terms of para 15 of the Symbols Order, the Commission hereby answers the issue number 2 by holding that the group led by Shri Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol 'Bicycle' for the purposes of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment Order, 1968)," the EC said in its 46-page order.

The Commission noted that Akhilesh's faction had filed the affidavits of 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 out of 68 MLCs, 15 out of 24 MPs, 28 out of 46 National Executive members and 4400 out of 5731 National Convention delegates which accounted for total delegates of 4716 out of 5731.

The order said Mulayam Singh's side did not file any affidavit of MPs or MLAs or any delegates claiming allegiance to it with the SP supremo maintaining that there was no split in the party needing determination of a dispute.

In the last Lok Sabha polls in 2014, it won only 5 seats. All winning candidates belonged to Mulayam's family. West Bengal Socialist Party of Kiranmoy Nanda merged with SP, which has two MLAs in Bihar and one each in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Nanda had presided over the December 1 convention which anointed Akhilesh as new Samajwadi Party president in place of Mulayam.

There was simmering discontent within the ruling family ever since Akhilesh became the Chief Minister. Mulayam's younger brother Shivpal was not in favour of Akhilesh as Chief Minister.

When the battle lines were drawn and last gasp efforts began for control over the party, the SP got clearly divided into two camps with one led by Akhilesh and Ramgopal Yadav, Mulayam's cousin, and the other by the Yadav chieftain himself. Mulayam had the backing of Shivpal and friend Amar Singh, often described as an "outsider" and blamed for the rift in the family.

Akhilesh had fired his uncle Shivpal twice from the cabinet and it was seen by many as a direct challenge to his father, who steadily showed preference for his younger brother over son.

The battle in the family took a decisive turn when Akhilesh released a parallel list of 235 candidates for the state assembly polls.

Mulayam and Shivpal had already released a list of 325 candidates in the absence of Akhilesh which did not go down well with the Chief Minister who wanted a decisive say in selecting the nominees.

Simmering tension in the state's ruling party erupted into a full-fledged war on December 30, 2016, when Mulayam expelled Akhilesh and Ramgopal Yadav from the party for six years on grounds of indiscipline but reinstated them within 24 hours after a meeting of 200 of the party?s 229 MLAs at the Chief Minister's residence.

At the SP National Convention on January 1 called by Ram Gopal, Akhilesh Yadav was declared the national president of Samajwadi Party.

Naresh Chandra Uttam was named chief of SP's state unit by Akhilesh replacing Shivpal.

In the mean time, Mulayam expelled Ramgopal again for six years for the third time in six months.

Those expelled for attending the convention included vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda and state general secretary Naresh Agarwal, a Rajya Sabha MP.

As the tussle for controlling the party organisation continued, both the factions knocked the Election Commission's door claiming to be the "real" Samajwadi Party and seeking the 'bicycle' symbol.

In its today's order, the EC said, "The commission hereby answers the issue by holding that the group led by Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol bicycle for the purposes of the Election symbols (Reservation and Allotment) order 1968," formally ending Mulayam's control over the party he founded.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated Akhilesh Yadav for getting Samajwadi Party's 'bicycle' symbol for contesting the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

"Congratulations @yadavakhilesh for getting SP symbol. You deserve it," Banerjee said in a tweet.