Samajwadi Party MLAs fear ticket loss over feud

Lucknow: With Samajwadi Party sources confirming that around 50 sitting party legislators may lose their tickets for the upcoming assembly elections, there is a growing sense of restlessness within the party.

State SP president Shivpal Singh Yadav has been announcing lists of candidates even though there has been no formal meeting of the party’s parliamentary board.

UP Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has also been maintaining a studied silence over the naming of candidates and this has made his supporters restive. Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, who had earlier said that his word would be the final in the list of candidates, has also chosen not to react to recent developments.

“If our leader (Akhilesh Yadav) does not intervene, we are sure to lose our tickets because we are not in the good books of other leaders. The chief minister had said that he should have a say in finalising candidates but now he is quiet. We are in a quandary,” said a young MLA , known to be close to the chief minister.

The situation is becoming increasingly piquant for ministers like Tej Narain Pandey. Mr Pandey was expelled last month from the party by state president Shivpal Yadav for alleged anti-party activities after SP MLC Ashu Malik accused him of beating him up.

However, CM Akhilesh Yadav did not remove Tej Narain Pandey from the council of minister but his fate now hangs in balance where the ticket is concerned.

Another case is that of Raj Kishore Singh, who was sacked from the council of ministers by the chief minister in June. State president Shivpal Yadav has announced a ticket for Raj Kishore’s brother Dimple but the name of Raj Kishore still does not figure in the SP list.

Tickets are now being constantly reshuffled which is adding to the prevailing uncertainty. State president Shivpal has changed candidates for Thana Bhawan and Jagdishpur assembly seats in the past two days and more changes are in the offing.

Meanwhile, Mr Shivpal Yadav said on Thursday that winnability was a major criterion in selection of candidates and the decision of party president Mulayam Singh Yadav in this matter would prevail over everything else.

Sources said that the party had held independent surveys in every constituency and it was on the basis of the reports that candidates were being finalised.