The Samajwadi-family feud between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav seems to be taking some unexpected turns, as the rebel Shivpal Yadav has now announced that his elder brother and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, the current Lok Sabha member from Azamgarh, will contest the next general election under from his new political party-Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM).
Shivpal Yadav had formed the Samajwadi Secular Morcha after ending ties with Samajwadi Party and has now decided to field veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri in the upcoming 2019 elections. Mulayam Singh Yadav had contested and won from two seats-Azamgarh and Mainpuri in the 2014 elections. He had retained Azamgarh and had resigned Mainpuri seat, later won by his grand-nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav. Reportedly, Mulayam Singh Yadav wants to contest from Mainpuri in the next elections rather than Azamgarh.
SSM spokesperson Deepak Mishra said, “Shivpalji has announced that Netaji (Mulayam) will be the SSM’s candidate in the next Lok Sabha elections from Mainpuri. If he wished to contest from any other seat, the SSM will be with him.”
Shivpal Yadav also claimed that many leaders from Akhilesh Yadav’s SP are in touch with him and are interested to join his party. Many SP leaders will soon join my party. We will also get the party registered with the Election Commission,” he said.
Shivpal Yadav had recently said that his party will field candidates in all the 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh. He had earlier said that the proposed alliance between SP-BSP should also include his outfit SSM. According to Shivpal Yadav, his morcha can win 20-30 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “If the (SP-BSP) alliance does not include the morcha, it (morcha) will contest on all 80 seats in UP”, Shivpal had said to media recently.
The so-called anti-BJP Mahagathbandhan looks like a distant dream as several regional leaders are actively pursuing their own political goals. In UP, while there is uncertainty over whether BSP supremo Mayawati will be a part of the Mahagathbandhan with Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate, she has added fresh uncertainties to the already confusing broth. Mayawati has announced that her party will go solo if not given a fair share of seats. it is notable here that BSP has declared Mayawati as their PM candidate and she has been giving statements against both Congress and BJP in recent times. With the widening gaps in the Samajwadi family and uncertainty in BSP’s intentions, the Mahagathbandhan’s future looks bleak, at least for Uttar Pradesh.
