Clamour against Mulayam Singh Yadav rises

Lucknow: Knives are out for Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav with his supporters talking of him playing a “fixed match” with his son Akhilesh Yadav, and requesting Shivpal Yadav to chart his own course.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s refusal to float a new party has sent a wave of resentment among his supporters who are now looking towards Shivpal Yadav for a political future.

Former SP minister Sharda Pratap Shukla, who was present at the press conference held by Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday and kept egging him on to announce the new party, said on Wednesday, “Mulayam Singh is a ‘fake’ Samajwadi and he is hand-in-glove with his son Akhilesh. It now seems that this entire family strife was scripted to strengthen Akhilesh and those who supported Mulayam Singh have been betrayed”.

Shukla disclosed that Monday’s press conference was convened to announce a new party but Mulayam Singh Yadav backtracked at the last minute.

“I was sitting next to him on the stage and I kept pushing the statement drafted to announce a new party to him, but he said that the time is not ripe,” he said.

Shukla said that he is still with Shivpal Yadav and yjay they would chart their own political future soon.

Another former SP minister who was denied ticket by Akhilesh Yadav spoke on condition of anonymity. “We were thrown out by Akhilesh Yadav because we supported Netaji. We are now feeling betrayed by Netaji and our political career has been destroyed. If Mulayam Singh Yadav wanted to strengthen the position of his son, he could have told us — why lead us up the garden path?” he said.

Shivpal Yadav, who has emerged as the biggest loser in this family war, has been maintaining a studied silence since Monday. His supporters have been flocking to his house and he has reportedly been asking them to give him some time.

“He has finally realised that Netaji has opted for his son over his brother and is naturally feeling betrayed. When everyone in the family deserted Netaji, it was only Shivpal who stood by him. We are now asking him to strike out on his own. After all, thousands of supporters are dependent on him,” said Raghubir Yadav, an SP worker from Mainpuri.

Sunil Shukla, another worker from Auraiyya, said that hundreds of party workers were meeting Shivpal Yadav every day. “We have asked him to stop being a Hanuman because Netaji has not acted like Ram. Shivpal Yadav’s own political career has been jeopardised by the father and son and we want him to build a new party now. We expect him to take a final decision before Diwali this year”, he said.