Sulking Netaji: Mulayam Calls Loyalists To Challenge Congress Candidates

Samajwadi Party’s sanrakshak (patron) Mulayam Singh Yadav put a spoke in Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wheel to prevent the “cycle” (SP’s poll symbol) from moving ahead with Congress support.

Queering the pitch for his son’s poll alliance with Rahul Gandhi, Mulayam asked his supporters to contest the elections against Congress candidates.

The Samajwadi Party is capable of winning the elections on its own and there was no need for this tie-up, Mulayam said.

Formally launching the alliance in Lucknow on Sunday, Akhilesh had said that he and Rahul were the two wheels of the cycle, with the slogan “UP ko ye saath pasand hai”.

Claiming that it would bring peace, prosperity and progress to the state, Rahul called the alliance a “sangam” (confluence) of the Ganga and the Yamuna which would lead to the Saraswati of progress and harmony.

Mulayam, whose politics has always centered around non-Congressism, was visibly upset with the development and struck a discordant note by predicting his party’s doom because of the tie-up.

“This alliance will ruin the Samajwadi Party,” Mulayam told the media soon after the historic joint press conference addressed by Rahul and Akhilesh.

Not only did Mulayam ask his loylalists to challenge Congress nominees on all the 105 seats given to the party by Akhilesh, but he also announced that he would not be campaigning for the Congress candidates.

What Mulayam left unclear was the party symbol on which his loyalists would contest against the Congress nominees. At present the SP’s official symbol will be given to those whose names have been cleared by Akhilesh.

What will the ticket aspirants of the party who lost out because of this seat sharing arrangement do? Mulayam asked. Sympathising with his loyalists, the SP patriarch said that these party functionaries whose seats had been given to Congress had worked hard in their constituencies.

That all was not normal in the ruling Yadav family became apparent on Sunday when the two young leaders were asked if Mulayam and Sonia Gandhi will campaign for their candidates.

While Rahul Gandhi said that he would not like to share “operational details”, Akhilesh said they had their elders’ blessings.

Because of Mulayam’s strong opposition the alliance took time to materialise. It was only after Akhilesh overcame his opponents from within that the formal announcement was made.

Later on Sunday evening, Akhilesh and Rahul went on a road show in Muslim-dominated localities of Lucknow. The impressive turnout was seen by party officials of both the camps as an approval for the alliance.

Although Rahul said that future plans had not been worked out, the alliance has apparently been formed keeping the 2019 parliamentary elections in mind. Congress, which is projecting Akhilesh as chief minister in the assembly polls, expects the Yadav scion to return the favour by supporting Rahul for prime minister’s post in 2019.