Samajwadi Pary leader Shivpal Yadav said that he is forming a new party, ANI reported.

The new party, called &#39;Samajwadi Secular Morcha&#39;, will be headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

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Neta ji ko unka sammaan vapas dilane, aur Samajawadion ko ek saath laane ke liye is morche ka jald hi ailaan hoga:Shivpal Yadav to ANI
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/860387470977912832">May 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The announcement comes in the wake of Samajwadi Party&#39;s huge defeat in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The party was reduced to just 47 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly.

Before the elections, Akhilesh Yadav had dethroned party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Samajwadi Party president, a move which was backed by the Election Commission of India which considered him as the president.

More to follow

(WION with inputs from ANI)

The new party, which will be named ?'Samajwadi Secular Morcha', will be headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav

Samajwadi Pary leader Shivpal Yadav said that he is forming a new party, ANI reported. The new party, called 'Samajwadi Secular Morcha', will be headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Neta ji ko unka sammaan vapas dilane, aur Samajawadion ko ek saath laane ke liye is morche ka jald hi ailaan hoga:Shivpal Yadav to ANI — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 5, 2017 × The announcement comes in the wake of Samajwadi Party's huge defeat in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The party was reduced to just 47 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly. Before the elections, Akhilesh Yadav had dethroned party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Samajwadi Party president, a move which was backed by the Election Commission of India which considered him as the president. More to follow (WION with inputs from ANI)

Samajwadi Party splits: Shivpal Yadav floats new party with Mulayam as president

In the wake of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath&#39;s emphasis on eliminating VIP culture from Uttar Pradesh, an inspection conducted by a team of electricity officials revealed that former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has unpaid electricity bills worth Rs 4 lakh.

The team upon arriving at his residence found that the permissible limit of 5 kW a day was being busted by as many as eight times. He has been given a time period till the end of the month to pay up.

The Samajwadi Party&nbsp;patriarch&#39;s sprawling residence in the Civil Lines area of his constituency Etawah is one of the biggest in the city with more than a dozen rooms, its own air-conditioning plant, a temperature-controlled swimming pool and several elevators.

Officials had changed the configurations to allow him 40 kW against a payment in lieu of the additional power supply.&nbsp;

(ANI)&nbsp;

An inspection conducted by electricity officials revealed he used 40 kW a day, when the permissible limit is 5 kW

In the wake of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's emphasis on eliminating VIP culture from Uttar Pradesh, an inspection conducted by a team of electricity officials revealed that former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has unpaid electricity bills worth Rs 4 lakh. The team upon arriving at his residence found that the permissible limit of 5 kW a day was being busted by as many as eight times. He has been given a time period till the end of the month to pay up. The Samajwadi Party patriarch's sprawling residence in the Civil Lines area of his constituency Etawah is one of the biggest in the city with more than a dozen rooms, its own air-conditioning plant, a temperature-controlled swimming pool and several elevators. Officials had changed the configurations to allow him 40 kW against a payment in lieu of the additional power supply. (ANI)

Mulayam Singh Yadav used electricity 8 times above limit, has unpaid bills of Rs 4 lakh: Adityanath govt

Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh: Dwelling on the father-son divide in Uttar Pradesh&#39;s Samajwadi Party&nbsp;(SP),&nbsp;Indian Prime Minister&nbsp;Narendra Modi chose to remind the north Indian state&#39;s chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, of the alleged attempt on his father&#39;s life in 1984&nbsp;by a Congress party member.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&quot;I want to ask how Akhilesh forgot the attack carried out on Mulayam&nbsp;(Singh)&nbsp;Yadav by Congress in 1984... What can be more shameful than befriending those who tried to murder one&#39;s father?... They cannot be pardoned.&quot;&nbsp;Modi was campaigning for&nbsp;Bharatiya&nbsp;Janata&nbsp;Party&nbsp;(BJP)&nbsp;that leads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) federal government.&nbsp;&nbsp;

That Modi chose to drive home the jibe in Yadav&#39;s family turf&nbsp;Kannauj&nbsp;that is a&nbsp;part of the Lok Sabha&nbsp;constituency Akhilesh&#39;s wife, Dimple,&nbsp;represents&nbsp;in the Indian Parliament, is central to the BJP&#39;s attack on the SP-Congress combine contesting together in the assembly polls for India&#39;s most populous state.&nbsp;Akhilesh&#39;s dramatic and rather public fallout with his father, Mulayam Singh,&nbsp;SP&nbsp;founder, and the way he wrested control of the party leadership is being touted by the BJP as a sign of disloyalty by the son with his father, something unacceptable in Indian culture.&nbsp;

Speaking in Hindi, Modi told the gathering in&nbsp;Kannauj,&nbsp;&quot;Has politics&nbsp;been&nbsp;degraded to such an extent that for the love of power such a thing&nbsp;(joining hands with Congress)&nbsp;would be done?&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This&nbsp;is&nbsp;also the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited&nbsp;Kannauj, perhaps as a nod to Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s growing clout in a state considered central to Indian politics, being its most populous and having a direct bearing on the number of Members of Parliament seats a party gets in the&nbsp;Rajya&nbsp;Sabha or the Upper House&nbsp;of Indian Parliament.&nbsp;

&quot;Fed up of attacks by Mulayam Singh as&nbsp;leader of the&nbsp;opposition in&nbsp;the state&nbsp;assembly, Congress got shots fired at him on March 4, 1984,&nbsp;but he survived...&nbsp;I want to tell Akhilesh that he should have remembered this incident before sitting in the lap of Congress,&quot;&nbsp;Modi said in a pointed attack on Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s family dynamics, something the BJP has been using to discredit the SP&nbsp;for a while.&nbsp;

He&nbsp;also&nbsp;went on to add, &quot;Akhileshji&nbsp;ko&nbsp;abhi&nbsp;anubhav&nbsp;kum&nbsp;hain, Congress wale&nbsp;kitne&nbsp;chatur&nbsp;hain&nbsp;inko&nbsp;samajh&nbsp;nahi&nbsp;aata... Mulayam ji&nbsp;ko&nbsp;toh&nbsp;pata&nbsp;tha&nbsp;(Akhilesh has less experience. He does not understand how cunning Congress people are. Mulayam knew about it).&quot;&nbsp;

On March 4, 1984, Mulayam Singh&#39;s car was fired at&nbsp;while he was on his way&nbsp;to Lucknow&nbsp;from&nbsp;Etawah&nbsp;in UP.&nbsp;The&nbsp;name of a powerful&nbsp;Congress&nbsp;politician had come up in connection with the shooting.&nbsp;

Attacking the SP-Congress alliance in the state poll, Modi said the two parties&nbsp;were campaigning against each other before the announcement of polls &quot;but came together after the interval to enter into the alliance for the elections&quot;.&nbsp;

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi&#39;s tempered response to Dalit&nbsp;leader&nbsp;Mayawati,&nbsp;who leads the&nbsp;Bahujan&nbsp;Samaj&nbsp;Party,&nbsp;at the joint press conference with Akhilesh for announcing the alliance with SP also drew the fire from Modi who called it Congress&#39;s&nbsp;&quot;three-legged race with one leg tied to&nbsp;Bahujan&nbsp;Samaj&nbsp;Party and another to Samajwadi Party&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;During the first press conference after the alliance, Akhilesh had attacked&nbsp;Mayawati,&nbsp;but when Congress vice-president was asked about her, he said he had nothing to say against her,&quot;&nbsp;Modi&nbsp;said.&nbsp;

Gandhi&nbsp;had said, &quot;I personally respect&nbsp;Mayawati.&nbsp;Although BSP ruled in Uttar Pradesh and made some mistakes, my respect for her is intact&quot;.&nbsp;

This had prompted BJP to dub BSP as a hidden partner of Congress-Samajwadi Party.&nbsp;

However, Akhilesh seemed in no hurry to endorse the Prime Minister&#39;s take on his equation&nbsp;with&nbsp;Mayawati&nbsp;whom he calls&nbsp;buaji&nbsp;(father&#39;s sister) in jest in his poll speeches.&nbsp;

He told voters in Uttar Pradesh&#39;s Unnao today that they should not trust the&nbsp;BSP as it might join hands with BJP after the assembly elections.&nbsp;

&quot;Buaji&nbsp;(Mayawati) is saying she will sit in the opposition if she is unable to form government. Elections are not over yet, but she is ready to sit in the opposition.&nbsp;

&quot;She cannot be relied upon. She can join hands with anyone. She had celebrated &#39;Rakshabandhan&#39; with a BJP leader earlier and she can do it in the future also,&quot; Akhilesh said at an election rally in Unnao.&nbsp;

His remarks came after&nbsp;Mayawati&nbsp;said that she would rather be in the opposition than form an alliance with BJP to form the government in Uttar Pradesh and accused the saffron party of spreading&nbsp;rumours&nbsp;of a coalition with BSP.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, however, the&nbsp;BSP chief&nbsp;seemed pleased with&nbsp;the polling trend in the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll, saying it indicated that her party was surging towards getting a majority.&nbsp;

&quot;Just like the first phase, the second phase of polling in 67 seats which took place today is a good indication that BSP is coming to power in UP with full majority,&quot; she said in a statement here.

(WION with agency inputs)

BJP is going to town over the "disloyalty" shown by Akhilesh to his father by forming a poll alliance with Congress

Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh: Dwelling on the father-son divide in Uttar Pradesh's Samajwadi Party (SP), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to remind the north Indian state's chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, of the alleged attempt on his father's life in 1984 by a Congress party member. "I want to ask how Akhilesh forgot the attack carried out on Mulayam (Singh) Yadav by Congress in 1984... What can be more shameful than befriending those who tried to murder one's father?... They cannot be pardoned." Modi was campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that leads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) federal government. That Modi chose to drive home the jibe in Yadav's family turf Kannauj that is a part of the Lok Sabha constituency Akhilesh's wife, Dimple, represents in the Indian Parliament, is central to the BJP's attack on the SP-Congress combine contesting together in the assembly polls for India's most populous state. Akhilesh's dramatic and rather public fallout with his father, Mulayam Singh, SP founder, and the way he wrested control of the party leadership is being touted by the BJP as a sign of disloyalty by the son with his father, something unacceptable in Indian culture. Speaking in Hindi, Modi told the gathering in Kannauj, "Has politics been degraded to such an extent that for the love of power such a thing (joining hands with Congress) would be done?" This is also the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited Kannauj, perhaps as a nod to Akhilesh Yadav's growing clout in a state considered central to Indian politics, being its most populous and having a direct bearing on the number of Members of Parliament seats a party gets in the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of Indian Parliament. "Fed up of attacks by Mulayam Singh as leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Congress got shots fired at him on March 4, 1984, but he survived... I want to tell Akhilesh that he should have remembered this incident before sitting in the lap of Congress," Modi said in a pointed attack on Akhilesh Yadav's family dynamics, something the BJP has been using to discredit the SP for a while. He also went on to add, "Akhileshji ko abhi anubhav kum hain, Congress wale kitne chatur hain inko samajh nahi aata... Mulayam ji ko toh pata tha (Akhilesh has less experience. He does not understand how cunning Congress people are. Mulayam knew about it)." On March 4, 1984, Mulayam Singh's car was fired at while he was on his way to Lucknow from Etawah in UP. The name of a powerful Congress politician had come up in connection with the shooting. Attacking the SP-Congress alliance in the state poll, Modi said the two parties were campaigning against each other before the announcement of polls "but came together after the interval to enter into the alliance for the elections". Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's tempered response to Dalit leader Mayawati, who leads the Bahujan Samaj Party, at the joint press conference with Akhilesh for announcing the alliance with SP also drew the fire from Modi who called it Congress's "three-legged race with one leg tied to Bahujan Samaj Party and another to Samajwadi Party". "During the first press conference after the alliance, Akhilesh had attacked Mayawati, but when Congress vice-president was asked about her, he said he had nothing to say against her," Modi said. Gandhi had said, "I personally respect Mayawati. Although BSP ruled in Uttar Pradesh and made some mistakes, my respect for her is intact". This had prompted BJP to dub BSP as a hidden partner of Congress-Samajwadi Party. However, Akhilesh seemed in no hurry to endorse the Prime Minister's take on his equation with Mayawati whom he calls buaji (father's sister) in jest in his poll speeches. He told voters in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao today that they should not trust the BSP as it might join hands with BJP after the assembly elections. "Buaji (Mayawati) is saying she will sit in the opposition if she is unable to form government. Elections are not over yet, but she is ready to sit in the opposition. "She cannot be relied upon. She can join hands with anyone. She had celebrated 'Rakshabandhan' with a BJP leader earlier and she can do it in the future also," Akhilesh said at an election rally in Unnao. His remarks came after Mayawati said that she would rather be in the opposition than form an alliance with BJP to form the government in Uttar Pradesh and accused the saffron party of spreading rumours of a coalition with BSP. On Wednesday, however, the BSP chief seemed pleased with the polling trend in the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll, saying it indicated that her party was surging towards getting a majority. "Just like the first phase, the second phase of polling in 67 seats which took place today is a good indication that BSP is coming to power in UP with full majority," she said in a statement here. (WION with agency inputs)

Congress tried to kill your father, how can you join hands with them? PM Modi asks UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav

The Samajwadi Party which is the ruling party of India&#39;s most populous state,&nbsp;Uttar Pradesh, is headed for a split following months-long bickering by the first family of the political outfit.

Shivpal Yadav, brother of Samajwadi Party satrap Mulayam Singh Yadav, has announced he will float a new party on March 11, the day the results of the Uttar Pradesh elections are announced.

In a show of defiance, Shivpal said he would also campaign for those who were denied the chance of contesting the state election by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is his nephew and the leader of the Samajwadi Party.

Shivpal also tut-tutted Akhilesh&#39;s decision to forge a pre-election alliance with the Congress, a decision that was condemned by Mulayam as well.

&quot;Netaji (as Mulayam is fondly called) and I have been attacked repeatedly. Many people have said they are what they are because of Netaji and those same people are today insulting him,&quot; Indian news agencies quoted Shivpal as saying.

Moments before, Shivpal filed his nomination papers to contest the elections in Uttar Pradesh. However, he will fight the elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate.

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Days after the Akhilesh Yadav emerged as the party&#39;s CM face in Uttar Pradesh, Shivpal today said he will be forming his own party post the assembly elections. Here&#39;s more to this story. (WION)
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The state will go to polls on February 11 and will carry on till March 8 on seven different days. The election results will be announced on March 11.

The Samajwadi Party, or the SP, has been inflicted with regular bouts of feuds as son Akhilesh and his father Mulayam have not seen eye-to-eye on a number of issues.

Joining hands with the Congress ahead of the elections is one bone of contention.&nbsp;While Akhilesh was in favour of tying up with the Congress, his father was dead against it. Even after the alliance was announced, Mulayam, like his brother Shivpal, had vowed to not campaign for the Congress.

Currently, the SP has been split into two factions: one supporting Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and the other backing Mulayam and Shivpal Yadav.

The discord in the party was sown last September and despite a slew of temporary patch-ups, the Yadav family has failed to reconcile with each other.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

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The rebellion rhapsody in the Samajwadi Party continues as Shivpal Yadav has announced he will float his own party on March 11

The Samajwadi Party which is the ruling party of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is headed for a split following months-long bickering by the first family of the political outfit. Shivpal Yadav, brother of Samajwadi Party satrap Mulayam Singh Yadav, has announced he will float a new party on March 11, the day the results of the Uttar Pradesh elections are announced. In a show of defiance, Shivpal said he would also campaign for those who were denied the chance of contesting the state election by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is his nephew and the leader of the Samajwadi Party. Shivpal also tut-tutted Akhilesh's decision to forge a pre-election alliance with the Congress, a decision that was condemned by Mulayam as well. "Netaji (as Mulayam is fondly called) and I have been attacked repeatedly. Many people have said they are what they are because of Netaji and those same people are today insulting him," Indian news agencies quoted Shivpal as saying. Moments before, Shivpal filed his nomination papers to contest the elections in Uttar Pradesh. However, he will fight the elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate. Days after the Akhilesh Yadav emerged as the party's CM face in Uttar Pradesh, Shivpal today said he will be forming his own party post the assembly elections. Here's more to this story. (WION) × The state will go to polls on February 11 and will carry on till March 8 on seven different days. The election results will be announced on March 11. The Samajwadi Party, or the SP, has been inflicted with regular bouts of feuds as son Akhilesh and his father Mulayam have not seen eye-to-eye on a number of issues. Joining hands with the Congress ahead of the elections is one bone of contention. While Akhilesh was in favour of tying up with the Congress, his father was dead against it. Even after the alliance was announced, Mulayam, like his brother Shivpal, had vowed to not campaign for the Congress. Currently, the SP has been split into two factions: one supporting Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and the other backing Mulayam and Shivpal Yadav. The discord in the party was sown last September and despite a slew of temporary patch-ups, the Yadav family has failed to reconcile with each other. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Uttar Pradesh: SP braces for split after elections

The ruling party of India&#39;s largest state Uttar Pradesh has descended into another bout of infighting over release of party candidates&#39; names for the upcoming regional elections.

Uttar Pradesh&#39;s ruling party Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh had on December 28 declared a list candidates for the state elections, which is to be held early next year.

But Mulayam made the announcement of 325 candidates without consulting his son and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, exacerbating the relationship between the duo.

The father-son trust&nbsp;hit a low in mid-August when Akhilesh Yadav got into an acrimonious power struggle with his uncle Shivpal Yadav.&nbsp;

In what seems to be a deliberate snub to his son, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam refused to name his son as the chief ministerial candidate and excluded those who are perceived to be close to Akhilesh.

Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope are members of the pro-Akhilesh bloc who have been left out of the candidates&#39; list.

In addition, Mulayam has given poll tickets to people who have not met openly feuded with Akhilesh, including Shivpal Yadav.

The timing of the announcement also underscored the fault lines in the family-run party. The names were announced when Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh was away in Bundelkhand.

&quot;The list does not include names of certain candidates who are sure to win. I will take it up with the SP chief and tell him that some of them have done really good work and they should be given tickets,&quot; an upset Akhilesh had said on December 28.

On Thursday (December 29), Akhilesh met his supporters&nbsp;at his 5 Kalidas Marg residence in India&#39;s northern city of Lucknow to defy his father&#39;s plan of action.

Indian newspaper DNA has learnt that Akhilesh might release his own list of names, a development that is likely to throw the party into further turmoil. Indian media reports suggest he might come out with his own&nbsp;list of 167 candidates. The renegade candidates named by Akhilesh might contest as independent candidates, sources close to the chief minister said.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

The protracted family turf war in Samajwadi Party has exacerbated in the run up to India's largest regional elections

The ruling party of India's largest state Uttar Pradesh has descended into another bout of infighting over release of party candidates' names for the upcoming regional elections. Uttar Pradesh's ruling party Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh had on December 28 declared a list candidates for the state elections, which is to be held early next year. But Mulayam made the announcement of 325 candidates without consulting his son and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, exacerbating the relationship between the duo. The father-son trust hit a low in mid-August when Akhilesh Yadav got into an acrimonious power struggle with his uncle Shivpal Yadav. In what seems to be a deliberate snub to his son, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam refused to name his son as the chief ministerial candidate and excluded those who are perceived to be close to Akhilesh. Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope are members of the pro-Akhilesh bloc who have been left out of the candidates' list. In addition, Mulayam has given poll tickets to people who have not met openly feuded with Akhilesh, including Shivpal Yadav. The timing of the announcement also underscored the fault lines in the family-run party. The names were announced when Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh was away in Bundelkhand. "The list does not include names of certain candidates who are sure to win. I will take it up with the SP chief and tell him that some of them have done really good work and they should be given tickets," an upset Akhilesh had said on December 28. On Thursday (December 29), Akhilesh met his supporters at his 5 Kalidas Marg residence in India's northern city of Lucknow to defy his father's plan of action. Indian newspaper DNA has learnt that Akhilesh might release his own list of names, a development that is likely to throw the party into further turmoil. Indian media reports suggest he might come out with his own list of 167 candidates. The renegade candidates named by Akhilesh might contest as independent candidates, sources close to the chief minister said. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Uttar Pradesh elections: Ruling party split wide open after poll names release

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the chief of Samajwadi Party (SP) that is in power in India&#39;s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday announced the expulsion of his son, state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, from the party for six years. He had earlier in the day expelled his cousin, senior party functionary Ramgopal Yadav, for six years after he announced an emergency meeting on January 1.

The surprise move comes after Akhilesh &quot;circulated&quot; his own list of 235 candidates for the upcoming state elections parallel to the party&#39;s official list of 393 nominees. The election in Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the largest regional election in India. Both Akhilesh and Ramgopal were slapped with showcause notices by the party.

On Thursday, Mulayam had released a list of election candidate without consulting Akhilesh, and refused to name his son as the chief ministerial candidate. Mulayam had also excluded people who are believed to be close to Akhilesh.&nbsp;

Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope are members of the pro-Akhilesh group who have been left out of the candidates&#39; list.

&quot;We have to save the party. The party comes first. That is why we are expelling both Akhilesh and Ramgopal,&quot; Mulayam said while announcing Akhilesh&#39;s expulsion.

&quot;How can he (Akhilesh) release the list when the party has declared its candidates.&nbsp;Both Akhilesh and Ramgopal want to finish the party. I will not let it happen. I have built this party through hard work,&quot; Mulayam said.

He said Ramgopal has not only indulged in indiscipline, but was causing harm to the party. &quot;As of now we have expelled him, but we will take further action against him,&quot; the party chief asserted.

Ramgopal has called the expulsion &quot;unconstitutional&quot;.

Akhilesh has asked his lawmakers to attend a party meet at 9 am tomorrow (December 31).

On a day of fast-moving developments, hordes of frenzied Akhilesh supporters, especially the youth, thronged his residence to express their support.

The timing of the announcement also underscored the fault lines in the family-led party, prompting &nbsp;&quot;pari-war&quot; memes that play on the Hindi word for family. The SP candidates&#39; list was announced when Akhilesh was away in Bundelkhand in southern UP.

The father-son trust hit a low in mid-August when Akhilesh got into an acrimonious power struggle with his uncle, Shivpal Yadav.&nbsp;

UP poll results become crucial for the Indian polity because of the ramifications it holds for the ruling party in power at the national level. The Bharatiya Janata Party, for instance, is focused on improving its tally of MPs (Members of Parliament) in the state as that will improve its numbers in Rajya Sabha, or the Upper House of Parliament, and facilitate the smooth clearance of legislation.

Earlier, Mulayam had called a meeting on Saturday of all those allotted tickets by him even as the Akhilesh camp remained adamant on contesting against the official candidates of the party.

Mulayam had reportedly attempted to avert a split after the crisis reached a stalemate last night when Akhilesh &quot;circulated&quot; his own list of 235 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. The party&#39;s official list had named 393 nominees.

Uttar Pradesh assembly has 403 seats.&nbsp;The battle for control in SP has left grassroots cadres confused about their leadership.

Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh&#39;s acrimonious uncle, met his brother Mulayam for nearly an hour this morning. Shivpal, however, did not respond to questions from journalists waiting outside Mulayam&#39;s residence.

Mulayam&#39;s cousin and SP general secretary Ramgopal Yadav, who is an Akhilesh supporter, had said there was no question of going back on the list prepared by the chief minister.

He also said that many in the party did not want to see Akhilesh as chief minister again which is being seen by many as a veiled swipe at Shivpal Yadav.

&quot;The fact remains that people of the state want him back as CM,&quot; he claimed.

He said Mulayam had convened a meeting on January 1 to take a final call on ticket distribution, &quot;but due to pressure (from Shivpal)&quot;, he announced the list on December 28.

Akhilesh&#39;s list, which was not signed, was circulated on social media last night by party MLAs who failed to find a mention in the official list.

Party observers said it would be interesting to observe if the 170-180 candidates, who figure in both lists, attend Mulayam&#39;s meeting or opt out.

Akhilesh, who was present at an official function here this morning, did not take questions from journalists.

Although those candidates owing allegiance to Akhilesh expressed their intention to contest polls &quot;in the name of and as the face of the CM&quot;, it was still not clear whether they would float a new party.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

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Akhilesh Yadav has been expelled for six years for openly disputing poll candidates list after months of political knuckle-baring

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the chief of Samajwadi Party (SP) that is in power in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday announced the expulsion of his son, state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, from the party for six years. He had earlier in the day expelled his cousin, senior party functionary Ramgopal Yadav, for six years after he announced an emergency meeting on January 1. The surprise move comes after Akhilesh "circulated" his own list of 235 candidates for the upcoming state elections parallel to the party's official list of 393 nominees. The election in Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the largest regional election in India. Both Akhilesh and Ramgopal were slapped with showcause notices by the party. On Thursday, Mulayam had released a list of election candidate without consulting Akhilesh, and refused to name his son as the chief ministerial candidate. Mulayam had also excluded people who are believed to be close to Akhilesh. Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope are members of the pro-Akhilesh group who have been left out of the candidates' list. "We have to save the party. The party comes first. That is why we are expelling both Akhilesh and Ramgopal," Mulayam said while announcing Akhilesh's expulsion. "How can he (Akhilesh) release the list when the party has declared its candidates. Both Akhilesh and Ramgopal want to finish the party. I will not let it happen. I have built this party through hard work," Mulayam said. He said Ramgopal has not only indulged in indiscipline, but was causing harm to the party. "As of now we have expelled him, but we will take further action against him," the party chief asserted. Ramgopal has called the expulsion "unconstitutional". Akhilesh has asked his lawmakers to attend a party meet at 9 am tomorrow (December 31). On a day of fast-moving developments, hordes of frenzied Akhilesh supporters, especially the youth, thronged his residence to express their support. The timing of the announcement also underscored the fault lines in the family-led party, prompting "pari-war" memes that play on the Hindi word for family. The SP candidates' list was announced when Akhilesh was away in Bundelkhand in southern UP. The father-son trust hit a low in mid-August when Akhilesh got into an acrimonious power struggle with his uncle, Shivpal Yadav. UP poll results become crucial for the Indian polity because of the ramifications it holds for the ruling party in power at the national level. The Bharatiya Janata Party, for instance, is focused on improving its tally of MPs (Members of Parliament) in the state as that will improve its numbers in Rajya Sabha, or the Upper House of Parliament, and facilitate the smooth clearance of legislation. Earlier, Mulayam had called a meeting on Saturday of all those allotted tickets by him even as the Akhilesh camp remained adamant on contesting against the official candidates of the party. Mulayam had reportedly attempted to avert a split after the crisis reached a stalemate last night when Akhilesh "circulated" his own list of 235 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. The party's official list had named 393 nominees. Uttar Pradesh assembly has 403 seats. The battle for control in SP has left grassroots cadres confused about their leadership. Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh's acrimonious uncle, met his brother Mulayam for nearly an hour this morning. Shivpal, however, did not respond to questions from journalists waiting outside Mulayam's residence. Mulayam's cousin and SP general secretary Ramgopal Yadav, who is an Akhilesh supporter, had said there was no question of going back on the list prepared by the chief minister. He also said that many in the party did not want to see Akhilesh as chief minister again which is being seen by many as a veiled swipe at Shivpal Yadav. "The fact remains that people of the state want him back as CM," he claimed. He said Mulayam had convened a meeting on January 1 to take a final call on ticket distribution, "but due to pressure (from Shivpal)", he announced the list on December 28. Akhilesh's list, which was not signed, was circulated on social media last night by party MLAs who failed to find a mention in the official list. Party observers said it would be interesting to observe if the 170-180 candidates, who figure in both lists, attend Mulayam's meeting or opt out. Akhilesh, who was present at an official function here this morning, did not take questions from journalists. Although those candidates owing allegiance to Akhilesh expressed their intention to contest polls "in the name of and as the face of the CM", it was still not clear whether they would float a new party. (WION with inputs from PTI)

UP elections: Ruling Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav expels son and state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav

Mulayam Singh Yadav, patriarch of Uttar Pradesh&#39;s ruling Samajwadi Party indicated on Monday that he wanted to end the ongoing feud within the party, stating that his son Akhilesh was the face of the party for the upcoming elections in the state.&nbsp;

Mulayam Singh told news agency ANI that the party was united and would soon campaign as one in the state.

&quot;For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of any division whatsoever in the party and we will begin campaigning soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that,&quot; he told ANI.

SP is in the middle of an intense power struggle with Mulayam and his brother Shivpal Yadav on one side and Mulayam`s son, Akhilesh, and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav on the other.

The warring factions had taken their dispute all the way to the Election Commission, staking their claim on the party&#39;s election symbol, the &#39;cycle&#39;. 
 
He was accompanied by his brother Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh, both senior leaders of the party who are being held responsible for the infighting within the party by the Akhilesh camp.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There is no rift between me and my son Akhilesh Yadav. My son is being provoked by one person,&quot; Mulayam Singh said after emerging from a meeting with the Election Commission in New Delhi today.&nbsp;

&quot;There is some problem in the party, one person is behind this feud. Am sure that issues will be resolved,&quot; Mulayam Singh said in an apparent reference to his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav.

He had also said that the Election Commission will decide on which faction would have claim over the party&#39;s symbol, the cycle.

Ram Gopal Yadav, the party&#39;s general secretary, had called a national executive meet earlier this month and declared Akhilesh Yadav as the party&#39;s national president in place of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

In his meeting with the Election Commission, Mulayam Singh also contested the affidavits of party leaders submitted by the faction owing allegiance to his son, alleging they were forged and asked the EC to get them verified.

The Akhilesh-led camp represented by Ram Gopal had on Saturday submitted an affidavit to the EC affirming that Samajwadi Party leaders were supporting the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. Ram Gopal had said that he submitted affidavits of 4,716 delegates of the total 5,731, indicating overwhelming support for Akhilesh.

Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, wrote&nbsp;a letter to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) chairman, Hamid Ansari,&nbsp;asking him to expel&nbsp;Ram Gopal Yadav from the SP and as leader of the party in the Upper House, PTI reported on Monday.&nbsp;He also urged Ansari to shift Ramgopal&#39;s seat to the back benches following his expulsion from the party.

Sources in the party told PTI the letter informed the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Ram Gopal was expelled from the party for six years on 30 December, 2016 and ceased to be leader of SP&#39;s Parliamentary Party in the Upper House.

Party sources said he also told the Election Commission that the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav was unconstitutional. He also said that while there was a resolution appointing Akhilesh as party president and another one appointing him as its mentor, there was no resolution removing him from the party chief&#39;s post. 
 
The assembly elections in the most populous and politically significant state in India will be held in seven phases beginning February 11.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

The Samajwadi Party patriarch said the party was united and would soon campaign as one in the state

Mulayam Singh Yadav, patriarch of Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party indicated on Monday that he wanted to end the ongoing feud within the party, stating that his son Akhilesh was the face of the party for the upcoming elections in the state. Mulayam Singh told news agency ANI that the party was united and would soon campaign as one in the state. "For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of any division whatsoever in the party and we will begin campaigning soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that," he told ANI. SP is in the middle of an intense power struggle with Mulayam and his brother Shivpal Yadav on one side and Mulayam`s son, Akhilesh, and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav on the other. The warring factions had taken their dispute all the way to the Election Commission, staking their claim on the party's election symbol, the 'cycle'. He was accompanied by his brother Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh, both senior leaders of the party who are being held responsible for the infighting within the party by the Akhilesh camp. "There is no rift between me and my son Akhilesh Yadav. My son is being provoked by one person," Mulayam Singh said after emerging from a meeting with the Election Commission in New Delhi today. "There is some problem in the party, one person is behind this feud. Am sure that issues will be resolved," Mulayam Singh said in an apparent reference to his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav. He had also said that the Election Commission will decide on which faction would have claim over the party's symbol, the cycle. Ram Gopal Yadav, the party's general secretary, had called a national executive meet earlier this month and declared Akhilesh Yadav as the party's national president in place of Mulayam Singh Yadav. In his meeting with the Election Commission, Mulayam Singh also contested the affidavits of party leaders submitted by the faction owing allegiance to his son, alleging they were forged and asked the EC to get them verified. The Akhilesh-led camp represented by Ram Gopal had on Saturday submitted an affidavit to the EC affirming that Samajwadi Party leaders were supporting the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. Ram Gopal had said that he submitted affidavits of 4,716 delegates of the total 5,731, indicating overwhelming support for Akhilesh. Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, wrote a letter to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) chairman, Hamid Ansari, asking him to expel Ram Gopal Yadav from the SP and as leader of the party in the Upper House, PTI reported on Monday. He also urged Ansari to shift Ramgopal's seat to the back benches following his expulsion from the party. Sources in the party told PTI the letter informed the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Ram Gopal was expelled from the party for six years on 30 December, 2016 and ceased to be leader of SP's Parliamentary Party in the Upper House. Party sources said he also told the Election Commission that the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav was unconstitutional. He also said that while there was a resolution appointing Akhilesh as party president and another one appointing him as its mentor, there was no resolution removing him from the party chief's post. The assembly elections in the most populous and politically significant state in India will be held in seven phases beginning February 11. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Akhilesh will be chief minister after elections, no question of Samajwadi Party splitting: Mulayam Singh

The Samajwadi Party and Congress have confirmed they will enter a pre-poll alliance for the upcoming assembly elections in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party, the ruling party of India&#39;s most populous state, said they remain keen on retaining &quot;secular values&quot; during the a press conference on Sunday evening.

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Congress and SP will contest Assembly Elections in UP together: Naresh Uttam, SP <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPElection2017?src=hash">#UPElection2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/RLwVan9gjC">pic.twitter.com/RLwVan9gjC</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/823151374674247680">January 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Under the new agreement, Samajwadi Party will contest 298 seats and the Congress will have 105 seats to fight from in the upcoming polls, according to SP leader Naresh Uttam.

Ending speculations that were doing the rounds on the possibility of both the parties contesting the state elections together, the alliance&nbsp;was sealed after the Congress party settled for 105 seats instead of 121 which they had demanded earlier, ANI&nbsp;reported.

The Samajwadi Party president and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday, said that the final offer for the Congress party was 100 seats.

Congress general secretary Ahmed Patel said that Priyanka Gandhi intervened to end the deadlock over the alliance to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the politically crucial state.

&quot;Wrong to suggest lightweights were dealing on behalf of Congress party.&nbsp;Discussion was at highest level- between CM (UP),GS I/C &amp; Priyanka Gandhi,&quot; he tweeted.

Blaming the Congress for its &quot;stubborn&quot; attitude, the Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal on Saturday said the possibility of an alliance was &quot;almost over&quot;.

&quot;The Chief Minister (Akhilesh Yadav) had made an offer of 100 seats to the Congress, but they are asking for 120 seats. We told them that we have 234 sitting legislators and there are some others who will also contest. So, we need at least 300 seats for ourselves,&quot; Agarwal told ANI.

On Friday, Akhilesh Yadav announced the list of candidates for the first three phases of assembly elections. &nbsp;

Uttar Pradesh will go to polls beginning February 11 in seven phases. The results will be announced on March 11.

Mulayam skips SP&#39;s manifesto meet

Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party&#39;s Akhilesh Yadav released the manifesto Sunday, though&nbsp;Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal skipped the event, inflaming rumours of continued infighting.

Senior SP leader Azam Khan rushed to Mulayam&#39;s bungalow to bring him to the event. But even then the patriarch did not grace the occasion where senior party leaders and Dimple Yadav, MP and wife of the chief minister, were present.

The ruling party has been dogged by skirmishes for the past few weeks as father Mulayam and son Akhilesh were at each other&#39;s throats over a catalogue of issues.&nbsp;

The party was divided into two factions -- one led by Akhilesh and the other by Mulayam and his brother Shivpal. Both camps went all out to undermine each other&#39;s influence, only for a last-minute patch-up between the blocs.&nbsp;

On Sunday, Akhilesh spoke announced schemes which prioritises&nbsp;development of the state.

The SP manifesto announced distribution of laptops, Kanya Vidya Dhan, Samajwadi Pension, laying of Purvanchal Expressway, and establishing Janeshwar Mishra model villages besides improving helplines for police and women.

He said the model villages in the name of Janeshwar Mishra would be a tribute to the Samajwadi leader on his death anniversary today.

The Chief Minister, in his new role as the Samajwadi Party national president, directed all candidates to prepare a road map for development of their respective Assembly constituencies.

A highlight of the manifesto was Samajwadi Kisan Kosh for farmers to purchase seeds and fertilisers, perhaps to match the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Bima Yojana.

The Lucknow-based party also released a list of 77 candidates who would contest the ensuing elections.

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
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The deadlock ended after the Congress settled for 105 seats instead of 121 which they had demanded earlier

The Samajwadi Party and Congress have confirmed they will enter a pre-poll alliance for the upcoming assembly elections in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party, the ruling party of India's most populous state, said they remain keen on retaining "secular values" during the a press conference on Sunday evening. Congress and SP will contest Assembly Elections in UP together: Naresh Uttam, SP #UPElection2017 pic.twitter.com/RLwVan9gjC — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 22, 2017 × Under the new agreement, Samajwadi Party will contest 298 seats and the Congress will have 105 seats to fight from in the upcoming polls, according to SP leader Naresh Uttam. Ending speculations that were doing the rounds on the possibility of both the parties contesting the state elections together, the alliance was sealed after the Congress party settled for 105 seats instead of 121 which they had demanded earlier, ANI reported. The Samajwadi Party president and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday, said that the final offer for the Congress party was 100 seats. Congress general secretary Ahmed Patel said that Priyanka Gandhi intervened to end the deadlock over the alliance to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the politically crucial state. "Wrong to suggest lightweights were dealing on behalf of Congress party. Discussion was at highest level- between CM (UP),GS I/C & Priyanka Gandhi," he tweeted. Blaming the Congress for its "stubborn" attitude, the Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal on Saturday said the possibility of an alliance was "almost over". "The Chief Minister (Akhilesh Yadav) had made an offer of 100 seats to the Congress, but they are asking for 120 seats. We told them that we have 234 sitting legislators and there are some others who will also contest. So, we need at least 300 seats for ourselves," Agarwal told ANI. On Friday, Akhilesh Yadav announced the list of candidates for the first three phases of assembly elections. Uttar Pradesh will go to polls beginning February 11 in seven phases. The results will be announced on March 11. Mulayam skips SP's manifesto meet Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav released the manifesto Sunday, though Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal skipped the event, inflaming rumours of continued infighting. Senior SP leader Azam Khan rushed to Mulayam's bungalow to bring him to the event. But even then the patriarch did not grace the occasion where senior party leaders and Dimple Yadav, MP and wife of the chief minister, were present. The ruling party has been dogged by skirmishes for the past few weeks as father Mulayam and son Akhilesh were at each other's throats over a catalogue of issues. The party was divided into two factions -- one led by Akhilesh and the other by Mulayam and his brother Shivpal. Both camps went all out to undermine each other's influence, only for a last-minute patch-up between the blocs. On Sunday, Akhilesh spoke announced schemes which prioritises development of the state. The SP manifesto announced distribution of laptops, Kanya Vidya Dhan, Samajwadi Pension, laying of Purvanchal Expressway, and establishing Janeshwar Mishra model villages besides improving helplines for police and women. He said the model villages in the name of Janeshwar Mishra would be a tribute to the Samajwadi leader on his death anniversary today. The Chief Minister, in his new role as the Samajwadi Party national president, directed all candidates to prepare a road map for development of their respective Assembly constituencies. A highlight of the manifesto was Samajwadi Kisan Kosh for farmers to purchase seeds and fertilisers, perhaps to match the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Bima Yojana. The Lucknow-based party also released a list of 77 candidates who would contest the ensuing elections. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Uttar Pradesh elections: Congress, Samajwadi Party announce alliance

Elections in India&#39;s largest state are around the corner, but the ruling party&#39;s preparation has been wracked with confusion as it has failed to forge a&nbsp;pre-poll alliance that it expected to have cobbled together by now.

India&#39;s northern state of Uttar Pradesh will go to polls from February 11 onwards, making it the world&#39;s biggest election of the year as the state has a population of 200 million.

India&#39;s ruling party Samajwadi Party was initially expected to unite with the Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal, or RLD, to take on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming polls.

But the plan seems to have come unstuck as SP ruled out an alliance with RLD on Thursday (January 19)&nbsp;and the party&#39;s seat-sharing deal today (January 20) with the Congress has put a question mark on their seemingly impending partnership.&nbsp;There were further disturbances in the contours of the so-called &#39;grand alliance&#39; as the Congress has refused to cast away the Rashtriya Lok Dal, with its spokesperson RS Surjewala Thursday&nbsp;saying it was &quot;premature&quot; to talk about any coalition at the moment. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

On Friday, SP said they could only give 85 of the 403 Assembly seats to the Congress, which did not evoke a &quot;positive response&quot; from the other side.

The SP came to the conclusion after devising a formula, wherein Congress received seats where they were in first place in the last elections or where the Samajwadi Party came third, fourth or fifth.

&ldquo;Thus, the Congress will get 54 seats. But if it (Congress) talks seriously, we can also give them 25-30 additional seats. The maximum seats we can give to them will be 85,&rdquo;&nbsp;SP national vice-president Kironmay Nanda told reporters after the party released its first list of 191 candidates.

The possibility of an alliance has been further dented after Uttar Pradesh&#39;s ruling party decided to field their candidates on seats that were won by the Congress in the 2012 polls. But when one of the reporters pointed this fact out, Nanda said: &quot;If alliance takes place, the SP will withdraw its candidates from those seats.&rdquo; &nbsp;

Nanda also said the Congress should unite with them as that would give them a good chance of beating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the high-stakes battle that has gripped India&#39;s most populous state.

SP&#39;s lone bright spot

In a move that could indicate a reconciliation between the rival factions led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav in the SP, the list of 191 candidates that was announced by the party saw the name of Akhilesh&#39;s uncle Shivpal Yadav, who belongs to the faction led by Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP released an additional list of 18 candidates later in the day (January 20).&nbsp;

The list bears the stamp of the state&#39;s chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as many of his picks have found mention among those whose names were declared. Veteran SP leader and cabinet minister Azam Khan, who is close to Mulayam Singh Yadav, has also been given a ticket from his pocket borough of Rampur, while his son Abdullah Azam has been given a&nbsp;ticket to contest the Swar seat in the Rampur district.

Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav will release the election manifesto on January 22, ANI reported.

RLD announces alliance with JD-U, other parties 
 
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) today (January 20) decided to contest all the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and 10 smaller parties, PTI reported.

The other parties include Rashtriya Samanta Dal, Rashtriya Apna Dal, Hamari Apni Party, Rashtriya Kranti Party, and the Bhartiya Vanchit Samaj party.

&quot;We will contest all the 403 seats in alliance with JD(U) and 10 smaller parties,&quot; RLD state unit chief Masood Ahmad Ahmad announced.

(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Ruling Samajwadi Party has offered only 85 election tickets to the Congress, eliciting a negative response from the other side

Elections in India's largest state are around the corner, but the ruling party's preparation has been wracked with confusion as it has failed to forge a pre-poll alliance that it expected to have cobbled together by now. India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh will go to polls from February 11 onwards, making it the world's biggest election of the year as the state has a population of 200 million. India's ruling party Samajwadi Party was initially expected to unite with the Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal, or RLD, to take on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming polls. But the plan seems to have come unstuck as SP ruled out an alliance with RLD on Thursday (January 19) and the party's seat-sharing deal today (January 20) with the Congress has put a question mark on their seemingly impending partnership. There were further disturbances in the contours of the so-called 'grand alliance' as the Congress has refused to cast away the Rashtriya Lok Dal, with its spokesperson RS Surjewala Thursday saying it was "premature" to talk about any coalition at the moment. On Friday, SP said they could only give 85 of the 403 Assembly seats to the Congress, which did not evoke a "positive response" from the other side. The SP came to the conclusion after devising a formula, wherein Congress received seats where they were in first place in the last elections or where the Samajwadi Party came third, fourth or fifth. “Thus, the Congress will get 54 seats. But if it (Congress) talks seriously, we can also give them 25-30 additional seats. The maximum seats we can give to them will be 85,” SP national vice-president Kironmay Nanda told reporters after the party released its first list of 191 candidates. The possibility of an alliance has been further dented after Uttar Pradesh's ruling party decided to field their candidates on seats that were won by the Congress in the 2012 polls. But when one of the reporters pointed this fact out, Nanda said: "If alliance takes place, the SP will withdraw its candidates from those seats.” Nanda also said the Congress should unite with them as that would give them a good chance of beating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the high-stakes battle that has gripped India's most populous state. SP's lone bright spot In a move that could indicate a reconciliation between the rival factions led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav in the SP, the list of 191 candidates that was announced by the party saw the name of Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav, who belongs to the faction led by Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP released an additional list of 18 candidates later in the day (January 20). The list bears the stamp of the state's chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as many of his picks have found mention among those whose names were declared. Veteran SP leader and cabinet minister Azam Khan, who is close to Mulayam Singh Yadav, has also been given a ticket from his pocket borough of Rampur, while his son Abdullah Azam has been given a ticket to contest the Swar seat in the Rampur district. Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav will release the election manifesto on January 22, ANI reported. RLD announces alliance with JD-U, other parties The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) today (January 20) decided to contest all the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and 10 smaller parties, PTI reported. The other parties include Rashtriya Samanta Dal, Rashtriya Apna Dal, Hamari Apni Party, Rashtriya Kranti Party, and the Bhartiya Vanchit Samaj party. "We will contest all the 403 seats in alliance with JD(U) and 10 smaller parties," RLD state unit chief Masood Ahmad Ahmad announced. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Uttar Pradesh polls: Cracks in 'grand alliance' talks after ruling party's seat-sharing formula

Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s uncle Ramgopal Yadav filed the caveat in the Supreme Court of India, prempting Akhilesh&#39;s father and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in case he decides to challenge the Election Commission order.

A day after India&#39;s Election Commission granted the disputed &#39;cycle&#39; symbol of the Samajwadi Party (SP) to Akhilesh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister visited his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh at his residence, describing his ties with him as &quot;unbreakable.&quot;

Akhilesh, who was reportedly given a list of about 40 candidates by Mulayam Singh, said over 90 per cent of the candidates in both lists were common. He said his priority was to form the SP government in the upcoming assembly elections in the state and that he would take his father along.

&quot;I will take Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) along...My relation with him is unbreakable. I was confident that I will get cycle (symbol). Little time is left. It&#39;s a big responsibility and I will take everyone with us,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;Over 90 per cent candidates in both the lists are common. We will finalise the list of candidates soon,&quot; Akhilesh told reporters during an informal chat at his Kalidas Marg residence in state capital Lucknow.

However, the Akhilesh faction led by his mentor and uncle Ramgopal Yadav filed a caveat in the top court asking it not to pass any order challenging the Election Commission order without hearing their side.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also went into a huddle with his advisors, including Upper House legislators Ramgopal Yadav and Naresh Agarwal, strategising on an alliance with Congress, RLD and JD(U) for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

SP sources said the list of party candidates will be released in a day or two.

There were reports that the three parties could come out with a common minimum programme.

While Akhilesh said in Lucknow that a decision on the alliance will be made in a day or two, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad confirmed his party would ally with the SP in the upcoming UP elections.&nbsp;

&quot;The decision on alliance (with Congress) will be taken in a day or two,&quot; Akhilesh told journalists in Lucknow. His uncle and party strategist Ramgopal Yadav hoped a grand secular alliance would be in place for polls.&nbsp;

&quot;I am confident that the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance will form the next government in Uttar Pradesh,&quot; All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad told the press in New Delhi.

Party coordinator for UP Meem Afzal said, &quot;Congress will have an alliance with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. The details of the arrangement will be announced in the next two days.&quot;

The Congress is yet to officially announce the SP alliance and seat-sharing agreement although an announcement is expected soon. Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, had earlier said that she would withdraw as the Congress&#39; chief ministerial candidate if her party enters into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the state.

The poll process kicked off today with a notification being issued for the first phase of polling on February 11.

Before the poll panel settled the dispute between the warring factions in Akhilesh&#39;s favour, Mulayam had rejected all suggestions of a tie-up with the Congress despite Akhilesh saying that an alliance between the two could fetch 300 of the state&#39;s 403 seats.

According to SP sources, the party will keep the majority of over 250 seats with itself. Congress was being offered around 90-100 seats by the SP, which was also said to be trying to rope in Ajit Singh&#39;s RLD. Rashtriya Lok Dal has pockets of influence in western UP which goes to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15.

Ramgopal Yadav and Ghulam Nabi Azad are reportedly in talks to iron out differences over seat sharing between the two parties.

Party sources said the list would be prepared keeping in mind the possible alliance with Congress as nomination for first phase has already begun.

Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, stayed put at his bungalow, hardly a stone&#39;s throw away from that of Akhilesh. Shivpal Yadav and a few other loyalists like Ambika Chowdhury met him during the day.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

Akhilesh, who was reportedly given a list of about 40 candidates by Mulayam Singh, said over 90% of the candidates in both lists were common

Akhilesh Yadav's uncle Ramgopal Yadav filed the caveat in the Supreme Court of India, prempting Akhilesh's father and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in case he decides to challenge the Election Commission order. A day after India's Election Commission granted the disputed 'cycle' symbol of the Samajwadi Party (SP) to Akhilesh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister visited his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh at his residence, describing his ties with him as "unbreakable." Akhilesh, who was reportedly given a list of about 40 candidates by Mulayam Singh, said over 90 per cent of the candidates in both lists were common. He said his priority was to form the SP government in the upcoming assembly elections in the state and that he would take his father along. "I will take Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) along...My relation with him is unbreakable. I was confident that I will get cycle (symbol). Little time is left. It's a big responsibility and I will take everyone with us," he said. "Over 90 per cent candidates in both the lists are common. We will finalise the list of candidates soon," Akhilesh told reporters during an informal chat at his Kalidas Marg residence in state capital Lucknow. However, the Akhilesh faction led by his mentor and uncle Ramgopal Yadav filed a caveat in the top court asking it not to pass any order challenging the Election Commission order without hearing their side. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also went into a huddle with his advisors, including Upper House legislators Ramgopal Yadav and Naresh Agarwal, strategising on an alliance with Congress, RLD and JD(U) for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. SP sources said the list of party candidates will be released in a day or two. There were reports that the three parties could come out with a common minimum programme. While Akhilesh said in Lucknow that a decision on the alliance will be made in a day or two, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad confirmed his party would ally with the SP in the upcoming UP elections. "The decision on alliance (with Congress) will be taken in a day or two," Akhilesh told journalists in Lucknow. His uncle and party strategist Ramgopal Yadav hoped a grand secular alliance would be in place for polls. "I am confident that the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance will form the next government in Uttar Pradesh," All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad told the press in New Delhi. Party coordinator for UP Meem Afzal said, "Congress will have an alliance with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. The details of the arrangement will be announced in the next two days." The Congress is yet to officially announce the SP alliance and seat-sharing agreement although an announcement is expected soon. Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, had earlier said that she would withdraw as the Congress' chief ministerial candidate if her party enters into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the state. The poll process kicked off today with a notification being issued for the first phase of polling on February 11. Before the poll panel settled the dispute between the warring factions in Akhilesh's favour, Mulayam had rejected all suggestions of a tie-up with the Congress despite Akhilesh saying that an alliance between the two could fetch 300 of the state's 403 seats. According to SP sources, the party will keep the majority of over 250 seats with itself. Congress was being offered around 90-100 seats by the SP, which was also said to be trying to rope in Ajit Singh's RLD. Rashtriya Lok Dal has pockets of influence in western UP which goes to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15. Ramgopal Yadav and Ghulam Nabi Azad are reportedly in talks to iron out differences over seat sharing between the two parties. Party sources said the list would be prepared keeping in mind the possible alliance with Congress as nomination for first phase has already begun. Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, stayed put at his bungalow, hardly a stone's throw away from that of Akhilesh. Shivpal Yadav and a few other loyalists like Ambika Chowdhury met him during the day. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Ties with Mulayam Singh unbreakable, will take him along: Akhilesh's olive branch to father ahead of polls

By Anuradha Mukherjee

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s fondness for bicycles is well-known, so the Election Commission of India&#39;s decision to grant the election symbol to the Samajwadi Party (SP) faction led by him must feel like a sweet gift.&nbsp;

But politicians aligned to the faction led by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, assert that this is not the end of the battle and that the two factions may ultimately fight it out in the UP polls. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;Now everything, including a joint existence of the two factions in SP, may depend on the Uttar Pradesh polls. If the bicycle symbol were not given to Akhilesh, or if it was frozen, Mulayam Singh would have fielded parallel candidates on all 403 assembly seats, but not now,&quot; an SP politician from the Mulayam faction told WION from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh&#39;s capital.&nbsp;

What also looks quite possible now is the much-discussed coalition with the Congress party which is expected to get 89-100 seats in the alliance.&nbsp;

While Akhilesh supporters were clearly happy, but guarded in their response, the gloom in Mulayam&#39;s camp was but palpable.&nbsp;

In fact, soon after the victory, Akhilesh rushed to call on his father, Mulayam, in what is being seen as an assertion of his personal relationship with the veteran politician.&nbsp;

Mulayam&#39;s supporters were mostly tight-lipped and said they would be able to respond to the development only once the party members discuss matters tomorrow.&nbsp;

However, a politician close to the Mulayam camp said any decision of forging a truce would depend on Netaji &quot;or the leader&quot; as the veteran politician is fondly called.&nbsp;

&quot;Whether the two groups decide to solve their differences will depend on Netaji. People who are being called &#39;anti-Akhilesh&#39; today are those who followed Netaji. Now if Akhilesh goes into a coalition with Congress party, where will the sitting legislators of SP go? Then Mulayam Singh ji will field those MLAs (members of legislative assembly) from those seats against the Congress,&quot; said the SP politician from Mulayam&#39;s faction. &nbsp;

&quot;When these sitting SP MLAs are denied tickets from seats that are allotted to Congress, they will definitely present their grievance in front of Mulayam Singh. He will then tell them to contest the polls with his photograph on their posters or on the ticket of his old party, Lok Dal, on the symbol of kisan (farmer). Lok Dal leader Sunil Singh has already offered its national president&#39;s position to Mulayam ji and has been quite critical of Akhilesh,&quot; he added. &nbsp;

The coalition with the Congress party was also a sore point between the father-son combine.&nbsp;

Congress politician Kapil Sibal represented Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s group in the EC in the election symbol case.&nbsp;

&quot;Given the overwhelming support received by Akhilesh&#39;s group, EC gave its decision,&quot; Kapil Sibal, Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s lawyer told the media on Monday. &nbsp;

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who was being touted as the Congress face in the state, had also announced her endorsement of Akhilesh for sometime now.&nbsp;

&ldquo;I am ready to step away if the Congress decides to go into an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav,&rdquo; Dikshit said. &nbsp;

The two warring arms of the Yadav clan that controls Samajwadi Party, in power in India&#39;s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, took their claim to the EC after son Akhilesh and father Mulayam Singh Yadav declared their own lists of candidates for the upcoming assembly polls.&nbsp;

Akhilesh declared majority support among his sitting legislators, something he was able to prove in ECI through affidavits submitted, and literally wrested control of the party from his father who founded it, using state police to seize control of the party headquarters in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh&#39;s capital.&nbsp;

However, the Akhilesh camp expressed hope of a reunion of the father and son duo. &quot;The party is united and is with Akhilesh Yadav. It was clear in the meeting of party workers that was held recently,&quot; said Rajan Chaudhary of SP, also a state minister. Asked if he saw the ECI decision changing things for his party that looked headed for a split, he hoped: &quot;The difficult situation that had arisen will change. And Mulayam Singh ji is a large-hearted person. He will come around.&quot; &nbsp;

(WION)

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav struck a conciliatory tone by calling on father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, after getting 'bicycle' election symbol

By Anuradha Mukherjee Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's fondness for bicycles is well-known, so the Election Commission of India's decision to grant the election symbol to the Samajwadi Party (SP) faction led by him must feel like a sweet gift. But politicians aligned to the faction led by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, assert that this is not the end of the battle and that the two factions may ultimately fight it out in the UP polls. "Now everything, including a joint existence of the two factions in SP, may depend on the Uttar Pradesh polls. If the bicycle symbol were not given to Akhilesh, or if it was frozen, Mulayam Singh would have fielded parallel candidates on all 403 assembly seats, but not now," an SP politician from the Mulayam faction told WION from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh's capital. What also looks quite possible now is the much-discussed coalition with the Congress party which is expected to get 89-100 seats in the alliance. While Akhilesh supporters were clearly happy, but guarded in their response, the gloom in Mulayam's camp was but palpable. In fact, soon after the victory, Akhilesh rushed to call on his father, Mulayam, in what is being seen as an assertion of his personal relationship with the veteran politician. Mulayam's supporters were mostly tight-lipped and said they would be able to respond to the development only once the party members discuss matters tomorrow. However, a politician close to the Mulayam camp said any decision of forging a truce would depend on Netaji "or the leader" as the veteran politician is fondly called. "Whether the two groups decide to solve their differences will depend on Netaji. People who are being called 'anti-Akhilesh' today are those who followed Netaji. Now if Akhilesh goes into a coalition with Congress party, where will the sitting legislators of SP go? Then Mulayam Singh ji will field those MLAs (members of legislative assembly) from those seats against the Congress," said the SP politician from Mulayam's faction. "When these sitting SP MLAs are denied tickets from seats that are allotted to Congress, they will definitely present their grievance in front of Mulayam Singh. He will then tell them to contest the polls with his photograph on their posters or on the ticket of his old party, Lok Dal, on the symbol of kisan (farmer). Lok Dal leader Sunil Singh has already offered its national president's position to Mulayam ji and has been quite critical of Akhilesh," he added. The coalition with the Congress party was also a sore point between the father-son combine. Congress politician Kapil Sibal represented Akhilesh Yadav's group in the EC in the election symbol case. "Given the overwhelming support received by Akhilesh's group, EC gave its decision," Kapil Sibal, Akhilesh Yadav's lawyer told the media on Monday. Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who was being touted as the Congress face in the state, had also announced her endorsement of Akhilesh for sometime now. “I am ready to step away if the Congress decides to go into an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav,” Dikshit said. The two warring arms of the Yadav clan that controls Samajwadi Party, in power in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, took their claim to the EC after son Akhilesh and father Mulayam Singh Yadav declared their own lists of candidates for the upcoming assembly polls. Akhilesh declared majority support among his sitting legislators, something he was able to prove in ECI through affidavits submitted, and literally wrested control of the party from his father who founded it, using state police to seize control of the party headquarters in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh's capital. However, the Akhilesh camp expressed hope of a reunion of the father and son duo. "The party is united and is with Akhilesh Yadav. It was clear in the meeting of party workers that was held recently," said Rajan Chaudhary of SP, also a state minister. Asked if he saw the ECI decision changing things for his party that looked headed for a split, he hoped: "The difficult situation that had arisen will change. And Mulayam Singh ji is a large-hearted person. He will come around." (WION)

Samajwadi Party braces for second leg of 'Pari-War': Rift can be fought out in UP polls

His failure to provide a matching response to Ram Gopal Yadav&#39;s meticulous paperwork submitted to the Election Commission of India seems to have cost Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav dear with the poll-body today deciding that the group led by his son Akhilesh Yadav &ldquo;is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol &#39;bicycle&#39;&quot; in the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The Election Commission&#39;s 42-page order on the father-son dispute makes for interesting reading. It lays down in great detail the entire sequence of events that played out in the Samajwadi symbol saga over the past few weeks.

While adjudicating on the case, the EC held that the &quot;facts and circumstances of the present case are to a large extent similar to those in the case of the split in the Indian National Congress and, therefore, the Commission is perfectly justified in applying the same test of majority in the present case as well&quot;.

In an affidavit submitted on January 6, Ram Gopal Yadav, on behalf of the Akhilesh Yadav group submitted individual affidavits of the members of legislative and organisational wings (see attached pic) in support of his claim of the majority support among the members of the party for the Akhilesh Yadav group.

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Members supporting Akhilesh Yadav (WION)
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In his reply on January 9, Mulayam, on the other hand, &ldquo;did not file any affidavit (except his own affidavit) of any member of Parliament or State Legislature or of any delegates; nor did he make claim of any support among the aforesaid category of members for his group, inspite of the fact that he had been specifically directed&rdquo; by the EC to file &ldquo;all such affidavits in support of his claim&rdquo;.

Realizing the urgency of the matter in view of the fast approaching elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the first notification calling the general election for the first phase from 73 assembly constituencies is scheduled to be notified on 17th January, the EC then fixed an urgent hearing in the matter on January 13.

While sending the notice to both the groups on January 10, the Election Commission again specifically directed both the groups that if they have any further documents to submit, they should do so by 5.00 p.m on January 12, along with synopsis of the oral arguments that they may advance at the hearing.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Again, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav group did not file any affidavit of any members of Parliament or state legislature or of any delegates to claim any support among those members for his group. In all his replies, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav only made the contention that there was no split in the party which needed determination under para 15 of the Symbols Order,&rdquo; the EC order said today.

The EC order further states that the Mulayam camp &ldquo;vaguely&rdquo; stated that a &ldquo;bare perusal of the said affidavits reveal that they contain the same contents in English so much so that the errors/mistakes which have crept in one has been carried in most of them&rdquo;.

&ldquo;For instance, in number of affidavits instead of word &#39;&#39;held&quot; the word &quot;help&quot; has been printed and the same error has been carried in majority of affidavits. It appears that the deponents have been seemingly called upon to sign on dotted lines. Moreover, the most of such deponents are not versed with English language, the affidavits allegedly sworn by them are in English and it has not been mentioned that the contents were read over to them in vernacular,&rdquo; the Mulayam camp argued.

It also added that the affidavits submitted by Ram Gopal Yadav &ldquo;do not contain averment that the affidavits have been sworn by the deponents without any fear, favour or influence, which is essential in such like situations&rdquo;.

The EC has said that except for these &ldquo;vague allegations&rdquo;, the Mulayam group--despite repeated opportunities given to it&mdash;neither filed any affidavit from any member nor indicated even the name of one member whose affidavit was considered by him to be suspect, or questioned the numbers claimed by Ram Gopal Yadav.

The substantive documentation made available by the Akhilesh Yadav camp&mdash;with senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal as its legal counsel&mdash;was enough to convince the EC that Akhilesh did enjoy &ldquo;overwhelming majority support, both among the legislative and organizational wing of the party&rdquo;.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Ram Gopal Yadav submitted individual affidavits of the members of legislative and organisational wings in favour of Akhilesh Yadav

His failure to provide a matching response to Ram Gopal Yadav's meticulous paperwork submitted to the Election Commission of India seems to have cost Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav dear with the poll-body today deciding that the group led by his son Akhilesh Yadav “is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol 'bicycle'" in the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission's 42-page order on the father-son dispute makes for interesting reading. It lays down in great detail the entire sequence of events that played out in the Samajwadi symbol saga over the past few weeks. While adjudicating on the case, the EC held that the "facts and circumstances of the present case are to a large extent similar to those in the case of the split in the Indian National Congress and, therefore, the Commission is perfectly justified in applying the same test of majority in the present case as well". In an affidavit submitted on January 6, Ram Gopal Yadav, on behalf of the Akhilesh Yadav group submitted individual affidavits of the members of legislative and organisational wings (see attached pic) in support of his claim of the majority support among the members of the party for the Akhilesh Yadav group. Members supporting Akhilesh Yadav (WION) × In his reply on January 9, Mulayam, on the other hand, “did not file any affidavit (except his own affidavit) of any member of Parliament or State Legislature or of any delegates; nor did he make claim of any support among the aforesaid category of members for his group, inspite of the fact that he had been specifically directed” by the EC to file “all such affidavits in support of his claim”. Realizing the urgency of the matter in view of the fast approaching elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the first notification calling the general election for the first phase from 73 assembly constituencies is scheduled to be notified on 17th January, the EC then fixed an urgent hearing in the matter on January 13. While sending the notice to both the groups on January 10, the Election Commission again specifically directed both the groups that if they have any further documents to submit, they should do so by 5.00 p.m on January 12, along with synopsis of the oral arguments that they may advance at the hearing. “Again, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav group did not file any affidavit of any members of Parliament or state legislature or of any delegates to claim any support among those members for his group. In all his replies, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav only made the contention that there was no split in the party which needed determination under para 15 of the Symbols Order,” the EC order said today. The EC order further states that the Mulayam camp “vaguely” stated that a “bare perusal of the said affidavits reveal that they contain the same contents in English so much so that the errors/mistakes which have crept in one has been carried in most of them”. “For instance, in number of affidavits instead of word ''held" the word "help" has been printed and the same error has been carried in majority of affidavits. It appears that the deponents have been seemingly called upon to sign on dotted lines. Moreover, the most of such deponents are not versed with English language, the affidavits allegedly sworn by them are in English and it has not been mentioned that the contents were read over to them in vernacular,” the Mulayam camp argued. It also added that the affidavits submitted by Ram Gopal Yadav “do not contain averment that the affidavits have been sworn by the deponents without any fear, favour or influence, which is essential in such like situations”. The EC has said that except for these “vague allegations”, the Mulayam group--despite repeated opportunities given to it—neither filed any affidavit from any member nor indicated even the name of one member whose affidavit was considered by him to be suspect, or questioned the numbers claimed by Ram Gopal Yadav. The substantive documentation made available by the Akhilesh Yadav camp—with senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal as its legal counsel—was enough to convince the EC that Akhilesh did enjoy “overwhelming majority support, both among the legislative and organizational wing of the party”. (WION)

Meticulous paperwork by Akhilesh-led faction swayed Election Commission's order on 'bicycle' symbol in his favour

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav enjoys &quot;overwhelming majority support&quot; of legislators and party delegates, the Election Commission held today while allocating the Samajwadi Party election symbol &#39;Cycle&#39; to him.

The Commission also went by past precedents when it had based its judgements on numerical strength as directed by the Supreme Court in a 1972 verdict.

&quot;...A mere look at the figures...Will evidently demonstrate that Akhilesh Yadav enjoys overwhelming majority support, both among the legislative and organisational wing of the party.&quot;

&quot;As a logical consequence of the above finding and applying the test of majority support 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...The group led by Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol Bicycle..,&quot; the 42-page order of the EC said.

Rejecting the stand of the Mulayam Singh Yadav camp, the Commission said there is a clear split in the party.

&quot;...The Commission is satisfied that a split has arisen in the Samajwadi Party resulting in the formation of two rival groups -- one, led by Akhilesh Yadav and the, other, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, each claiming to be that party, and, therefore, the matter needed to be determined by the Commission under para 15 of the Symbols Order,&quot; the poll panel said.

It said 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 of the 68 MLCs, 15 of the 24 MPs and 28 of the 46 National Executive members have sided with Akhilesh.

Also, 4400 of the 5731 National Convention delegates have signed in favour of the chief minister, the order said.

The Commission referred to a contention by Mulayam&#39;s side that the affidavits filed by Akhilesh&#39;s group do not contain averment that they were sworn without any fear, favour or influence as needed and said except for the &quot;above vague allegation&quot;, the group did not file any affidavit from any member despite repeated opportunities given to it.

&quot;... Neither filed any affidavit from any member nor indicated even the name of one member whose affidavit was considered by him to be suspect or questioned the above numbers claimed by Shri Ram Gopal Yadav either on 13 January, 2017 at the time of hearing or at any time thereafter,&quot; the order said.

It also mentioned that while the counsel for the Mulayam group wanted to make a mountain of a molehill by referring to a typographical mistake in the affidavits of the Akhilesh group, the counsel had no reply when it was pointed out that its leader Amar Singh had said in the concluding para of his affidavit that &quot;I refute my point on the illegibility of January 1, 2017 convention of Samajwadi Party and unconstitutionality of their resolution thereby&quot;.

The seven-phased polls in the state begin on February 11.

The order came within a fortnight of Akhilesh being anointed the national president of the party.

A jubilant Ramgopal Yadav said the EC took the right decision as the Mulayam camp did not have any supporting documents to claim symbol and party name.

&quot;The Chief Minister is very happy,&quot; he said.

About party&#39;s plans for an alliance with Congress in the state for the coming elections, he said, &quot;The party president will be deciding it. I hope it will happen.&quot;

As soon as he got the news, Akhilesh went to meet his father to seek his blessings.

Interestingly, the EC announcement came hours after Akhilesh supporters put up his brand new name plate at the SP headquarters that read &quot;Akhilesh Yadav, Party President&quot; strategically positioned directly under his father&#39;s nameplate which mentions Mulayam as &quot;Party President&quot;.

(PTI) 
&nbsp;

The EC said 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 of the 68 MLCs, 15 of the 24 MPs and 28 of the 46 national executive members have sided with Akhilesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav enjoys "overwhelming majority support" of legislators and party delegates, the Election Commission held today while allocating the Samajwadi Party election symbol 'Cycle' to him. The Commission also went by past precedents when it had based its judgements on numerical strength as directed by the Supreme Court in a 1972 verdict. "...A mere look at the figures...Will evidently demonstrate that Akhilesh Yadav enjoys overwhelming majority support, both among the legislative and organisational wing of the party." "As a logical consequence of the above finding and applying the test of majority support 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...The group led by Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party and is entitled to use its name and its reserved symbol Bicycle..," the 42-page order of the EC said. Rejecting the stand of the Mulayam Singh Yadav camp, the Commission said there is a clear split in the party. "...The Commission is satisfied that a split has arisen in the Samajwadi Party resulting in the formation of two rival groups -- one, led by Akhilesh Yadav and the, other, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, each claiming to be that party, and, therefore, the matter needed to be determined by the Commission under para 15 of the Symbols Order," the poll panel said. It said 205 of the 228 MLAs, 56 of the 68 MLCs, 15 of the 24 MPs and 28 of the 46 National Executive members have sided with Akhilesh. Also, 4400 of the 5731 National Convention delegates have signed in favour of the chief minister, the order said. The Commission referred to a contention by Mulayam's side that the affidavits filed by Akhilesh's group do not contain averment that they were sworn without any fear, favour or influence as needed and said except for the "above vague allegation", the group did not file any affidavit from any member despite repeated opportunities given to it. "... Neither filed any affidavit from any member nor indicated even the name of one member whose affidavit was considered by him to be suspect or questioned the above numbers claimed by Shri Ram Gopal Yadav either on 13 January, 2017 at the time of hearing or at any time thereafter," the order said. It also mentioned that while the counsel for the Mulayam group wanted to make a mountain of a molehill by referring to a typographical mistake in the affidavits of the Akhilesh group, the counsel had no reply when it was pointed out that its leader Amar Singh had said in the concluding para of his affidavit that "I refute my point on the illegibility of January 1, 2017 convention of Samajwadi Party and unconstitutionality of their resolution thereby". The seven-phased polls in the state begin on February 11. The order came within a fortnight of Akhilesh being anointed the national president of the party. A jubilant Ramgopal Yadav said the EC took the right decision as the Mulayam camp did not have any supporting documents to claim symbol and party name. "The Chief Minister is very happy," he said. About party's plans for an alliance with Congress in the state for the coming elections, he said, "The party president will be deciding it. I hope it will happen." As soon as he got the news, Akhilesh went to meet his father to seek his blessings. Interestingly, the EC announcement came hours after Akhilesh supporters put up his brand new name plate at the SP headquarters that read "Akhilesh Yadav, Party President" strategically positioned directly under his father's nameplate which mentions Mulayam as "Party President". (PTI)

How the Election Commission arrived at the verdict to grant 'bicycle' symbol to Akhilesh Yadav-led faction

A little over 25 years after Mulayam Singh Yadav founded the Samajwadi Party, he lost control over it today after the Election Commission recognised his son and Uttar Pradesh chief minister as its president and allowed him to retain the &#39;bicycle&#39; symbol.

The body blow for the socialist leader came 72 days after the party he floated and nurtured celebrated its silver jubilee on November 5 amid continued tension with Akhilesh.

Barely three weeks later, the Akhilesh Yadav camp held a national convention where the 43-year-old leader was anointed the national president of the party founded by his father replacing him.

Samajwadi Party was one of several parties which emerged after the Janata Dal got fragmented in the early 1990s.

SP, which is primarily an Uttar Pradesh-based party contested Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections around the country, but its successes have largely been limited to the state.

In the assembly election in Madhya Pradesh in 2003, the SP won seven seats, making it the third largest party in the state.

In the 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, it registered a landslide and formed the government.

It would have been a 5th term for Mulayam Singh Yadav as chief minister of state, but he surprised everyone by nominating his son Akhilesh to the coveted position.

Samajawadi Party supported to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

It had contested the 2009 general election in alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party of Bihar. In the last general election, Samajwadi Party was convincingly defeated by the BJP and its allies in Uttar Pradesh which together won 73 of the state&#39;s 80 Lok Sabha seats.

SP, before today&#39;s poll panel order, was the 13th largest party in Parliament.

(PTI)

The blow for party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav came 72 days after the party he floated celebrated its silver jubilee on November 5

A little over 25 years after Mulayam Singh Yadav founded the Samajwadi Party, he lost control over it today after the Election Commission recognised his son and Uttar Pradesh chief minister as its president and allowed him to retain the 'bicycle' symbol. The body blow for the socialist leader came 72 days after the party he floated and nurtured celebrated its silver jubilee on November 5 amid continued tension with Akhilesh. Barely three weeks later, the Akhilesh Yadav camp held a national convention where the 43-year-old leader was anointed the national president of the party founded by his father replacing him. Samajwadi Party was one of several parties which emerged after the Janata Dal got fragmented in the early 1990s. SP, which is primarily an Uttar Pradesh-based party contested Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections around the country, but its successes have largely been limited to the state. In the assembly election in Madhya Pradesh in 2003, the SP won seven seats, making it the third largest party in the state. In the 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, it registered a landslide and formed the government. It would have been a 5th term for Mulayam Singh Yadav as chief minister of state, but he surprised everyone by nominating his son Akhilesh to the coveted position. Samajawadi Party supported to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. It had contested the 2009 general election in alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party of Bihar. In the last general election, Samajwadi Party was convincingly defeated by the BJP and its allies in Uttar Pradesh which together won 73 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats. SP, before today's poll panel order, was the 13th largest party in Parliament. (PTI)

India: Election body recognises Akhilesh Yadav as Samajwadi Party president, grants symbol

The deadlock within Uttar Pradesh&#39;s ruling Samajwadi Party showed no signs of easing despite efforts by senior party leaders to broker peace between chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh.

Mulayam Singh, who was removed from the post of party president by Akhilesh and his supporters last week, stayed put in his residence in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow. &nbsp;He met his younger brother Shivpal Yadav and a few senior party leaders including Azam Khan, Ambika Chowdhury, and assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey.&nbsp;

Ambika Chowdhury said after the meeting, &quot;All will be well. SP will remain one.&quot;

Meanwhile, SP treasurer and Rajya Sabha legislator Sanjay Seth met Akhilesh as his residence.

The reconciliation efforts had gained momentum yesterday after the Election Commission asked the two sides to file their claims for the party&#39;s &#39;cycle&#39; symbol by January 9.

Malayam&#39;s cousin Ramgopal Yadav claimed the Akhilesh camp had collected signatures of 212 of the 229 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), 56 of the 68 Members of Legislative Councils (MLCs), 15 of the 24 Members of Parliament (MPs) and a majority of the 5,000 delegates, &quot;making it crystal clear as to which was the real SP&quot;.

In Etawah, Mulayam&#39;s brother Abhayram Yadav hailed Shivpal blamed &quot;stubborn Akhilesh&quot; for the ongoing crisis within the family and party. &quot;Akhilesh is stubborn. Shivpal used to take him to school and take care of him,&quot; he told the press.

Shivpal Yadav, who is being blamed by many for the feud, met Akhilesh privately yesterday the first time since the split on Sunday.

SP MP Amar Singh, whose return to the party recently after six years, is being held as one of the reasons for discord between father and son, said he was in favour of a patch-up between the two and that he was not a &quot;hurdle&quot; in the path of the chief minister.

Sources told PTI that they did not rule out the possibility of resignation of &quot;outsider&quot; Amar Singh under a &quot;compromise formula.&quot;

They also speculated on the possible resignation of Shivpal from the post of the party&#39;s state chief, a charge held by Akhilesh before the family feud broke out.

Akhilesh, meanwhile, has has asked 13 banks to stop withdrawal of money, till he authorises a new custodian of party funds. &nbsp;The move makes it impossible for Shivpal, who used to be the authorised signatory to release funds on behalf of the party, to withdraw money.

Party insiders say the family, who, till now, were rooting for Mulayam are now backing Akhilesh. Most are Abhay Ram Yadav and Rajpal Yadav &ndash; both uncles of his. As a result, Mulayam Singh is left only with a handful of die-hard loyalists like Shivpal, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

Malayam's cousin Ramgopal claimed the Akhilesh camp has collected signatures of 212 of the 229 legislators

The deadlock within Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party showed no signs of easing despite efforts by senior party leaders to broker peace between chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh. Mulayam Singh, who was removed from the post of party president by Akhilesh and his supporters last week, stayed put in his residence in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow. He met his younger brother Shivpal Yadav and a few senior party leaders including Azam Khan, Ambika Chowdhury, and assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey. Ambika Chowdhury said after the meeting, "All will be well. SP will remain one." Meanwhile, SP treasurer and Rajya Sabha legislator Sanjay Seth met Akhilesh as his residence. The reconciliation efforts had gained momentum yesterday after the Election Commission asked the two sides to file their claims for the party's 'cycle' symbol by January 9. Malayam's cousin Ramgopal Yadav claimed the Akhilesh camp had collected signatures of 212 of the 229 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), 56 of the 68 Members of Legislative Councils (MLCs), 15 of the 24 Members of Parliament (MPs) and a majority of the 5,000 delegates, "making it crystal clear as to which was the real SP". In Etawah, Mulayam's brother Abhayram Yadav hailed Shivpal blamed "stubborn Akhilesh" for the ongoing crisis within the family and party. "Akhilesh is stubborn. Shivpal used to take him to school and take care of him," he told the press. Shivpal Yadav, who is being blamed by many for the feud, met Akhilesh privately yesterday the first time since the split on Sunday. SP MP Amar Singh, whose return to the party recently after six years, is being held as one of the reasons for discord between father and son, said he was in favour of a patch-up between the two and that he was not a "hurdle" in the path of the chief minister. Sources told PTI that they did not rule out the possibility of resignation of "outsider" Amar Singh under a "compromise formula." They also speculated on the possible resignation of Shivpal from the post of the party's state chief, a charge held by Akhilesh before the family feud broke out. Akhilesh, meanwhile, has has asked 13 banks to stop withdrawal of money, till he authorises a new custodian of party funds. The move makes it impossible for Shivpal, who used to be the authorised signatory to release funds on behalf of the party, to withdraw money. Party insiders say the family, who, till now, were rooting for Mulayam are now backing Akhilesh. Most are Abhay Ram Yadav and Rajpal Yadav – both uncles of his. As a result, Mulayam Singh is left only with a handful of die-hard loyalists like Shivpal, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada. (WION with inputs from agencies)

India: Deadlock in Samajwadi Party continues as fresh reconciliation efforts fail

By Manan Kumar

Indications emerged late Tuesday evening that the talks between Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav had failed.

But given the past history of U-turns, only Mulayam knows if this is the end of the drama or more surprises are in store. There is a likelihood of the father-and-son duo meeting again on Wednesday for a quick final bargain to strike a&nbsp;truce. The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule for Uttar Pradesh along with four other states on Wednesday.

Talks ended in a stalemate after Mulayam demanded his own pound of flesh -- that he would remain the President of the party, and that if Amar Singh is ousted from the party, then Ram Gopal Yadav will also have to go. Mulayam, though, agreed to taking brother Shivpal out of state politics by offering him a Rajya Sabha seat, party sources said. Ram Gopal Yadav&#39;s ouster, who also happens to be his mentor, is not acceptable to Akhilesh.

The game of chess between father and son had entered a deadlock after the two were brought at the table by party heavyweight Azam Khan on Tuesday to sort out the feud.

Akhilesh who met Mulayam for four long hours in a one-on-one meeting placed five conditions in clear terms that included, Amar Singh would be completely ousted from the party, there would be no role for uncle Shivpal in state politics, tickets will be&nbsp;distributed as per Akhilesh&#39;s choice, Mulayam will not question alliances and would be made chief guardian of the party.

Sources said Akhilesh conveyed his father that it was either take it or leave it but he would always keep respecting his father by keeping him at the highest pedestal of chief guardian of his party.

As the meeting was being organised, Akhilesh&#39;s mentor and Mulayam&#39;s cousin Ram Gopal Yadav staked claim on the party and its symbol bicycle by showcasing having support of 90 per cent of the elected representatives of the party.

However, the ongoing feud gave union home minister Rajnath Singh and BSP supremo Mayawati to take potshots on the father and son.

Referring to the internecine fight in the Samajwadi Party, Rajnath Singh said the fight between father and son is painful, especially for a sensitive man like him.

The internecine fight is damaging the state and next government will have to undo the damage, added Rajnath.

He, however, chose not to answer whether he would consider the &nbsp;post of chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has not projected that it&#39;s a chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh yet. Rajnath was the chief minister of UP for about a year and a&nbsp;half between 2000-2002.

Rajnath was also evasive if demonetisation will help the BJP in UP and said &quot;some decisions cannot be looked at from the prism of immediate political gains and losses. The decision to demonetise was taken in national interest.&quot;

Exploiting the feud in Samajwadi Party, Mayawati in Lucknow asked Muslims not to waste their vote by choosing SP as it would divide their vote among two warring factions led by Akhilesh and Shivpal and help BJP win elections.

(This report first appeared in DNA)

Mulayam said he wanted to remain party president and that if Amar Singh had to go, then so did Ram Gopal

By Manan Kumar Indications emerged late Tuesday evening that the talks between Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav had failed. But given the past history of U-turns, only Mulayam knows if this is the end of the drama or more surprises are in store. There is a likelihood of the father-and-son duo meeting again on Wednesday for a quick final bargain to strike a truce. The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule for Uttar Pradesh along with four other states on Wednesday. Talks ended in a stalemate after Mulayam demanded his own pound of flesh -- that he would remain the President of the party, and that if Amar Singh is ousted from the party, then Ram Gopal Yadav will also have to go. Mulayam, though, agreed to taking brother Shivpal out of state politics by offering him a Rajya Sabha seat, party sources said. Ram Gopal Yadav's ouster, who also happens to be his mentor, is not acceptable to Akhilesh. The game of chess between father and son had entered a deadlock after the two were brought at the table by party heavyweight Azam Khan on Tuesday to sort out the feud. Akhilesh who met Mulayam for four long hours in a one-on-one meeting placed five conditions in clear terms that included, Amar Singh would be completely ousted from the party, there would be no role for uncle Shivpal in state politics, tickets will be distributed as per Akhilesh's choice, Mulayam will not question alliances and would be made chief guardian of the party. Sources said Akhilesh conveyed his father that it was either take it or leave it but he would always keep respecting his father by keeping him at the highest pedestal of chief guardian of his party. As the meeting was being organised, Akhilesh's mentor and Mulayam's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav staked claim on the party and its symbol bicycle by showcasing having support of 90 per cent of the elected representatives of the party. However, the ongoing feud gave union home minister Rajnath Singh and BSP supremo Mayawati to take potshots on the father and son. Referring to the internecine fight in the Samajwadi Party, Rajnath Singh said the fight between father and son is painful, especially for a sensitive man like him. The internecine fight is damaging the state and next government will have to undo the damage, added Rajnath. He, however, chose not to answer whether he would consider the post of chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has not projected that it's a chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh yet. Rajnath was the chief minister of UP for about a year and a half between 2000-2002. Rajnath was also evasive if demonetisation will help the BJP in UP and said "some decisions cannot be looked at from the prism of immediate political gains and losses. The decision to demonetise was taken in national interest." Exploiting the feud in Samajwadi Party, Mayawati in Lucknow asked Muslims not to waste their vote by choosing SP as it would divide their vote among two warring factions led by Akhilesh and Shivpal and help BJP win elections. (This report first appeared in DNA)

UP election: Suspense remains as talks between Akhilesh, Mulayam fail

The party led by Akhilesh Yadav -- the Uttar Pradesh chief minister -- is the real Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh&#39;s uncle and mentor Ram Gopal Yadav told the election commission (EC) on Tuesday.&nbsp;

Ram Gopal added that 90 per cent of the party&#39;s members were with Akhilesh. &nbsp;

Even as Akhilesh met Mulayam Singh at his home in Lucknow, Ramgopal Yadav said no compromise would be made within the warring factions.

&quot;No compromise is being made in the SP. Both sides have kept their facts before the Election Commission. Akhilesh Yadav is the party&#39;s national president and we will fight elections under his leadership. The Election Commission will decide over election symbol,&quot; Ramgopal Yadav told ANI.

The bitter battle between Akhilesh and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav -- who until now has been the party&#39;s supremo -- had reached the election commission on Monday with Mulayam staking claim to the party and its election symbol the bicycle, which has high recall value.

Sources in the EC said Mulayam Singh conveyed, emphatically, to the EC that he was still president of the party and that the election symbol belonged to him.

Mulayam also said that the resolutions passed at the party convention called by party general secretary and convenor Ram Gopal Yadav -- his cousin -- on Sunday were illegal since he had already been expelled from the party.

Mulayam did not however file an affidavit -- which is needed to stake claim to the symbol -- although he did submit a one-page memorandum staking claim to the party and its symbol.

That has given rise to the suspicion that talk of a split in the party may turn out to be untrue, since one never knows the wily Mulayam&#39;s gameplan.

Mulayam went to the EC along with brother Shivpal, Amar Singh, and Jaya Prada. He refused to meet the waiting media.

The EC is expected to take a decision on the matter after hearing out the Akhilesh faction.

Ram Gopal, who was the architect of Sunday&#39;s coup, presented Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s claim to the party and its symbol to the EC on Tuesay.

He was expected to present all documents from Sunday&#39;s convention to prove Akhilesh is the de jure head of the SP since he enjoys the support of the majority of its elected representatives.

Sources in the EC said that in such a scenario -- of a split in the party and a claim and counter claim on the bicycle symbol -- the symbol may be frozen by the commission -- thereby disallowing either side from using it -- until it decides the case, which may take several months.

Such a &quot;freeze&quot; would make campaigning harder for both sides.&nbsp;

&quot;The full commission will take a decision on the symbol after diligently considering all past cases of such splits like Congress split into Congress O and Congress I and the split in AIADMK in late 1980s,&quot; an election commission official said.

Interestingly, in the EC&#39;s records, the ownership of the symbol lies with Mulayam Singh since it was he who filed the original documents when the Samajwadi Party was founded.

In case the bicycle is frozen as a symbol, the EC will make both warring factions choose from an inventory of over 1,000 symbols for the purpose of elections -- Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls early tis year -- until the commission decides who the legitimate owner of the bicycle symbol is.

The split may force the warring factions to use the name Samajwadi Party&#39;s with suffixes like SP - M (Mulayam) and SP - A (Akhilesh).

But the bitter fight, only a few days before the declaration of the elections, is expected to jeopardise the campaigning of both factions.

(This article first appeared in DNA)

The party led by Akhilesh is the real Samajwadi Party, Ram Gopal Yadav tells election commission

The party led by Akhilesh Yadav -- the Uttar Pradesh chief minister -- is the real Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh's uncle and mentor Ram Gopal Yadav told the election commission (EC) on Tuesday. Ram Gopal added that 90 per cent of the party's members were with Akhilesh. Even as Akhilesh met Mulayam Singh at his home in Lucknow, Ramgopal Yadav said no compromise would be made within the warring factions. "No compromise is being made in the SP. Both sides have kept their facts before the Election Commission. Akhilesh Yadav is the party's national president and we will fight elections under his leadership. The Election Commission will decide over election symbol," Ramgopal Yadav told ANI. The bitter battle between Akhilesh and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav -- who until now has been the party's supremo -- had reached the election commission on Monday with Mulayam staking claim to the party and its election symbol the bicycle, which has high recall value. Sources in the EC said Mulayam Singh conveyed, emphatically, to the EC that he was still president of the party and that the election symbol belonged to him. Mulayam also said that the resolutions passed at the party convention called by party general secretary and convenor Ram Gopal Yadav -- his cousin -- on Sunday were illegal since he had already been expelled from the party. Mulayam did not however file an affidavit -- which is needed to stake claim to the symbol -- although he did submit a one-page memorandum staking claim to the party and its symbol. That has given rise to the suspicion that talk of a split in the party may turn out to be untrue, since one never knows the wily Mulayam's gameplan. Mulayam went to the EC along with brother Shivpal, Amar Singh, and Jaya Prada. He refused to meet the waiting media. The EC is expected to take a decision on the matter after hearing out the Akhilesh faction. Ram Gopal, who was the architect of Sunday's coup, presented Akhilesh Yadav's claim to the party and its symbol to the EC on Tuesay. He was expected to present all documents from Sunday's convention to prove Akhilesh is the de jure head of the SP since he enjoys the support of the majority of its elected representatives. Sources in the EC said that in such a scenario -- of a split in the party and a claim and counter claim on the bicycle symbol -- the symbol may be frozen by the commission -- thereby disallowing either side from using it -- until it decides the case, which may take several months. Such a "freeze" would make campaigning harder for both sides. "The full commission will take a decision on the symbol after diligently considering all past cases of such splits like Congress split into Congress O and Congress I and the split in AIADMK in late 1980s," an election commission official said. Interestingly, in the EC's records, the ownership of the symbol lies with Mulayam Singh since it was he who filed the original documents when the Samajwadi Party was founded. In case the bicycle is frozen as a symbol, the EC will make both warring factions choose from an inventory of over 1,000 symbols for the purpose of elections -- Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls early tis year -- until the commission decides who the legitimate owner of the bicycle symbol is. The split may force the warring factions to use the name Samajwadi Party's with suffixes like SP - M (Mulayam) and SP - A (Akhilesh). But the bitter fight, only a few days before the declaration of the elections, is expected to jeopardise the campaigning of both factions. (This article first appeared in DNA)

UP election: After Mulayam, son Akhilesh's camp stakes claim to Samajwadi Party & symbol

The disqualifications of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and party member Ram Gopal Yadav were never taken back on paper.

Sources said revoking the duo&#39;s disqualification was conditional. It was decided that both Akhilesh and Ram Gopal would not conduct the party&#39;s national convention but they went ahead, and hence their disqualifications were not revoked.

Ram Gopal was sacked on January 1 for the third time by party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav after he declared Akhilesh the new national president of the Samajwadi Party at a special national party convention.

Mulayam termed the national convention &quot;unconstitutional&quot; and dismissed the proposals passed in it as &quot;illegal&quot;.

A letter issued by Mulayam blamed Ram Gopal for &#39;conspiring&#39; to harm the party.

Only the party president can call a&nbsp;convention, and not disqualified members.

On December 30, the feud-riddled Samajwadi Party had hurtled towards a split after Mulayam expelled Akhilesh and Ram Gopal from the party for six years.

The shock move came a day after Akhilesh, the party patriarch&#39;s son, came up with his own list of 235 candidates for the assembly polls.

As the crisis within the Samajwadi Party refuses to die down, Ram Gopal is schedule to meet with the officials of Election Commission to stake claim for the party symbol &#39;Cycle&#39;.

Mulayam, and senior leaders Amar Singh, Shivpal Singh Yadav and Jaya Prada met the Election Commission yesterday over the same issue.

Mulayam on Monday postponed the January 5 emergency convention. No fresh date has been announced for the convention.

(ANI)

The duo's disqualification was not revoked because they went ahead with the party's national convention

The disqualifications of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and party member Ram Gopal Yadav were never taken back on paper. Sources said revoking the duo's disqualification was conditional. It was decided that both Akhilesh and Ram Gopal would not conduct the party's national convention but they went ahead, and hence their disqualifications were not revoked. Ram Gopal was sacked on January 1 for the third time by party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav after he declared Akhilesh the new national president of the Samajwadi Party at a special national party convention. Mulayam termed the national convention "unconstitutional" and dismissed the proposals passed in it as "illegal". A letter issued by Mulayam blamed Ram Gopal for 'conspiring' to harm the party. Only the party president can call a convention, and not disqualified members. On December 30, the feud-riddled Samajwadi Party had hurtled towards a split after Mulayam expelled Akhilesh and Ram Gopal from the party for six years. The shock move came a day after Akhilesh, the party patriarch's son, came up with his own list of 235 candidates for the assembly polls. As the crisis within the Samajwadi Party refuses to die down, Ram Gopal is schedule to meet with the officials of Election Commission to stake claim for the party symbol 'Cycle'. Mulayam, and senior leaders Amar Singh, Shivpal Singh Yadav and Jaya Prada met the Election Commission yesterday over the same issue. Mulayam on Monday postponed the January 5 emergency convention. No fresh date has been announced for the convention. (ANI)

Yadav vs Yadav: Akhilesh, Ram Gopal's disqualifications were never taken back on paper

The infighting within Uttar Pradesh&#39;s ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) reached a crescendo after the party&#39;s general secretary, Ramgopal Yadav, declared chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as the party&#39;s national president in place of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Mulayam Singh retaliated by expelling Ramgopal, who is also his cousin, for six years -- for the second time in three days and the third time since October. He also called the National Executive meet called by Ramgopal &quot;unconstitutional&quot; and &quot;illegal&quot;, since it was called without consulting him, the party&#39;s national secretary.

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Mulayam Singh Yadav terms today&#39;s National Exec meet called by Ramgopal Yadav as unconstitutional &amp; decisions taken in the meet as illegal
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/815478773889912832">January 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;The parliamentary board of the party declares all the proposals, decisions and the convention itself illegal and expels Ram Gopal, who convened the convention, for six years,&quot; the letter stated.

Mulayam Singh has called a party convention of his own on January 5 in the state capital, Lucknow. He had earlier issued a letter asking party workers not to attend the National Executive meet called by Ramgopal Yadav.

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Mulayam Singh Yadav writes letter to party workers, asks them not to attend National Executive meet called by Ramgopal Yadav <a href="https://t.co/cigXo5sSn8">pic.twitter.com/cigXo5sSn8</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/815430590266687488">January 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Soon after he was declared party president, Akhilesh Yadav said, &quot;If there is a conspiracy against Netaji or the party then it will be my responsibility as son to stand against conspirators,&quot; PTI reported.

Akhilesh defended his step, saying the decision was a tough one but one he &quot;had to take&quot;. He will reportedly move the Election Commission tomorrow, staking a claim to the party&#39;s symbol, the cycle, sources told news agency ANI.

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Sometimes to protect the ones you love you must make the right decision. What I did today was a tough decision but one that I had to take. <a href="https://t.co/M5xZYEZhii">pic.twitter.com/M5xZYEZhii</a>
&mdash; Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/yadavakhilesh/status/815588811854008320">January 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

At the National Executive&nbsp;meet called by him, Ramgopal also removed&nbsp;Shivpal Yadav from the post of president of the SP&#39;s state unit and &quot;sacked&quot;&nbsp;Amar Singh from the party.

Party vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda, who was also expelled from the party for attending the meeting, told ANI, &quot;My best wishes to Akhilesh on becoming party president. He will work under the leadership and guidance of Netaji.&quot;

Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s supporters removed Shivpal Yadav&#39;s nameplate from the party office in Lucknow.&nbsp;

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CM Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s supporters create chaos at Samajwadi Party&#39;s office in Lucknow, remove Shivpal Yadav&#39;s nameplate from party office <a href="https://t.co/agCxxgCfOs">pic.twitter.com/agCxxgCfOs</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/815518411560095745">January 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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They earlier celebrated outside the SP office after he was elected president at the national executive.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a>: Akhilesh supporters dance and celebrate outside SP office in Lucknow after he was elected SP&#39;s Pres at today&#39;s national executive <a href="https://t.co/UvAYKq0ozS">pic.twitter.com/UvAYKq0ozS</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/815530221671567360">January 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Lucknow: Akhilesh supporters dance and celebrate outside SP office after he was elected SP&#39;s president at today&#39;s national executive <a href="https://t.co/ahGsHAPSY4">pic.twitter.com/ahGsHAPSY4</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/815527166444081152">January 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Mulayam Singh&#39;s letter, meanwhile,&nbsp;makes no mention of Akhilesh Yadav. It states that the candidates&#39; list issued earlier for the 2017 assembly polls has been endorsed and a decision on the remaining seats will be taken soon.

The father-son trust hit a low in mid-August when Akhilesh got into an acrimonious power struggle with his uncle, Shivpal Yadav.&nbsp;

Things took a turn for the worse on December 30 after Akhilesh &quot;circulated&quot; his own list of 235 candidates for the upcoming state elections parallel to the party&#39;s official list of 393 nominees. He and Ramgopal Yadav were expelled from the party for six years the same day by Mulayam Singh.&nbsp;

However, father and son met the next day and Mulayam Singh revoked the suspension, saying he and Akhilesh would jointly prepare the list of election candidates.

The election in Uttar Pradesh is the largest regional election in India.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

A convention called by Ram Gopal this morning removed Mulayam Singh from the post of national president, replacing him with Akhilesh Yadav

The infighting within Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) reached a crescendo after the party's general secretary, Ramgopal Yadav, declared chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as the party's national president in place of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Mulayam Singh retaliated by expelling Ramgopal, who is also his cousin, for six years -- for the second time in three days and the third time since October. He also called the National Executive meet called by Ramgopal "unconstitutional" and "illegal", since it was called without consulting him, the party's national secretary. Mulayam Singh Yadav terms today's National Exec meet called by Ramgopal Yadav as unconstitutional & decisions taken in the meet as illegal — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 1, 2017 × "The parliamentary board of the party declares all the proposals, decisions and the convention itself illegal and expels Ram Gopal, who convened the convention, for six years," the letter stated. Mulayam Singh has called a party convention of his own on January 5 in the state capital, Lucknow. He had earlier issued a letter asking party workers not to attend the National Executive meet called by Ramgopal Yadav. Mulayam Singh Yadav writes letter to party workers, asks them not to attend National Executive meet called by Ramgopal Yadav pic.twitter.com/cigXo5sSn8 — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 1, 2017 × Soon after he was declared party president, Akhilesh Yadav said, "If there is a conspiracy against Netaji or the party then it will be my responsibility as son to stand against conspirators," PTI reported. Akhilesh defended his step, saying the decision was a tough one but one he "had to take". He will reportedly move the Election Commission tomorrow, staking a claim to the party's symbol, the cycle, sources told news agency ANI. Sometimes to protect the ones you love you must make the right decision. What I did today was a tough decision but one that I had to take. pic.twitter.com/M5xZYEZhii — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 1, 2017 × At the National Executive meet called by him, Ramgopal also removed Shivpal Yadav from the post of president of the SP's state unit and "sacked" Amar Singh from the party. Party vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda, who was also expelled from the party for attending the meeting, told ANI, "My best wishes to Akhilesh on becoming party president. He will work under the leadership and guidance of Netaji." Akhilesh Yadav's supporters removed Shivpal Yadav's nameplate from the party office in Lucknow. CM Akhilesh Yadav's supporters create chaos at Samajwadi Party's office in Lucknow, remove Shivpal Yadav's nameplate from party office pic.twitter.com/agCxxgCfOs — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 1, 2017 × They earlier celebrated outside the SP office after he was elected president at the national executive. #WATCH: Akhilesh supporters dance and celebrate outside SP office in Lucknow after he was elected SP's Pres at today's national executive pic.twitter.com/UvAYKq0ozS — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 1, 2017 × Lucknow: Akhilesh supporters dance and celebrate outside SP office after he was elected SP's president at today's national executive pic.twitter.com/ahGsHAPSY4 — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 1, 2017 × Mulayam Singh's letter, meanwhile, makes no mention of Akhilesh Yadav. It states that the candidates' list issued earlier for the 2017 assembly polls has been endorsed and a decision on the remaining seats will be taken soon. The father-son trust hit a low in mid-August when Akhilesh got into an acrimonious power struggle with his uncle, Shivpal Yadav. Things took a turn for the worse on December 30 after Akhilesh "circulated" his own list of 235 candidates for the upcoming state elections parallel to the party's official list of 393 nominees. He and Ramgopal Yadav were expelled from the party for six years the same day by Mulayam Singh. However, father and son met the next day and Mulayam Singh revoked the suspension, saying he and Akhilesh would jointly prepare the list of election candidates. The election in Uttar Pradesh is the largest regional election in India. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Akhilesh Yadav supporters declare him Samajwadi Party president, Mulayam Singh calls it 'unconstitutional'

Rajya Sabha MP Ramgopal Yadav, who was expelled from the Samajwadi Party in October for six years in the midst of a raging feud in the Yadav clan, was today reinstated in the party.

Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said the expulsion of his cousin Ramgopal Yadav has been revoked.

&quot;Expulsion of Ramgopal Yadav has been revoked. He will continue as leader of party in the Rajya Sabha, spokesman, party national general secretary and member of party&#39;s national parliamentary board,&quot; Mulayam Singh said in a release issued here.

Ramgopal, who is considered close to Uttar Pradesh&nbsp;Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was expelled from the party for six years on October 23 on the instructions of the SP supremo.

Ramgopal is a cousin of Mulayam and Shivpal and is considered to play the role of a &quot;think tank&quot;. He had strongly supported Akhilesh in the family feud in the Yadav clan.

While announcing his expulsion, Shivpal had levelled serious allegations against Ramgopal, saying he was working as part of a &quot;conspiracy&quot; in collusion with the BJP to weaken the SP and tarnish the Akhilesh Yadav government&#39;s image.

&quot;Ramgopal had met thrice with top leaders of the saffron party,&quot; Shivpal had said, accusing his cousin of &quot;patronising and shielding corrupt elements.&quot;

Ramgopal was also blamed for the SP&#39;s breakup from the &quot;mahagathbandhan&quot; (grand alliance) in the Bihar election last year.

He was sacked hours after Shivpal and three other ministers considered close to him were sacked from the state cabinet by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

Ramgopal Yadav had strongly supported Akhilesh in the feud involving Uttar Pradesh's prominent political family

Rajya Sabha MP Ramgopal Yadav, who was expelled from the Samajwadi Party in October for six years in the midst of a raging feud in the Yadav clan, was today reinstated in the party. Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said the expulsion of his cousin Ramgopal Yadav has been revoked. "Expulsion of Ramgopal Yadav has been revoked. He will continue as leader of party in the Rajya Sabha, spokesman, party national general secretary and member of party's national parliamentary board," Mulayam Singh said in a release issued here. Ramgopal, who is considered close to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was expelled from the party for six years on October 23 on the instructions of the SP supremo. Ramgopal is a cousin of Mulayam and Shivpal and is considered to play the role of a "think tank". He had strongly supported Akhilesh in the family feud in the Yadav clan. While announcing his expulsion, Shivpal had levelled serious allegations against Ramgopal, saying he was working as part of a "conspiracy" in collusion with the BJP to weaken the SP and tarnish the Akhilesh Yadav government's image. "Ramgopal had met thrice with top leaders of the saffron party," Shivpal had said, accusing his cousin of "patronising and shielding corrupt elements." Ramgopal was also blamed for the SP's breakup from the "mahagathbandhan" (grand alliance) in the Bihar election last year. He was sacked hours after Shivpal and three other ministers considered close to him were sacked from the state cabinet by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. (PTI)

India: Mulayam Singh Yadav revokes cousin Ramgopal's expulsion from party

Months ahead of the state elections in northern India&#39;s Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today asserted that the &quot;party and the family are united&quot;. The remark came amid a deepening rift in the ruling party.&nbsp;

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As he addressed a press conference two days after his brother, Shivpal Yadav was sacked from the cabinet for the second time by son and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the party supremo addressed a press conference flanked by party unit chief, Shivpal, and three other sacked ministers, Indian news agency PTI reported.&nbsp;

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&quot;My family and party are united. All workers are united. There are some conspirators, who do not have any mass base,&quot; he was quoted as saying.

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&quot;There is not &#39;matbhed&#39; (difference) or &#39;manbhed&#39; (ill feelings) among our leaders,&quot; Mulayam added.&nbsp;

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The seasoned political leader also stressed that the party had come to power in 2012 because of him only and still Akhilesh was made the chief minister. He however, ruled out becoming the chief minister if the party is elected again.

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He also dodged the question about the chief ministerial candidate for 2017. &nbsp;&quot;Ours is a democratic party. First let us get majority and then elected representatives will select their CM. Presently, Akhilesh is CM, does anyone have any problem?&quot;&nbsp;

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When asked if Shivpal will be reinstated to the party, Mulayam said he leaves the decision on Akhilesh.&nbsp;

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&quot;I leave this to CM.... You ask him why he made them ministers and why he sacked them.&quot;

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(WION with inputs from PTI)&nbsp;

Mulayam said chief minister and son, Akhilesh, will decide if brother Shivpal will be reinstated in the northern state's cabinet

Months ahead of the state elections in northern India's Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today asserted that the "party and the family are united". The remark came amid a deepening rift in the ruling party. As he addressed a press conference two days after his brother, Shivpal Yadav was sacked from the cabinet for the second time by son and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the party supremo addressed a press conference flanked by party unit chief, Shivpal, and three other sacked ministers, Indian news agency PTI reported. "My family and party are united. All workers are united. There are some conspirators, who do not have any mass base," he was quoted as saying. "There is not 'matbhed' (difference) or 'manbhed' (ill feelings) among our leaders," Mulayam added. The seasoned political leader also stressed that the party had come to power in 2012 because of him only and still Akhilesh was made the chief minister. He however, ruled out becoming the chief minister if the party is elected again. He also dodged the question about the chief ministerial candidate for 2017. "Ours is a democratic party. First let us get majority and then elected representatives will select their CM. Presently, Akhilesh is CM, does anyone have any problem?" When asked if Shivpal will be reinstated to the party, Mulayam said he leaves the decision on Akhilesh. "I leave this to CM.... You ask him why he made them ministers and why he sacked them." (WION with inputs from PTI)

SP turf war: 'Party, family are united,'  says Mulayam as he keeps future plan under wraps

The ruling Samajwadi Party appeared to be headed for a split today as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father and&nbsp;party supremo Mulayam Singh were engaged in an open face-off, sacking each other&#39;s loyalists Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav.

While Akhilesh sacked Shivpal, his uncle and the party&#39;s state unit chief, along with three other &quot;pro-Amar Singh&quot; ministers from his Cabinet, his father hit back by dismissing Ramgopal, his cousin who is an Akhilesh loyalist&nbsp;and the SP&#39;s national general secretary, from the party for six years.

The fast-paced developments unfolded this morning when Akhilesh held a meeting of party legislators, a day ahead of a mega meeting of party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and ministers called by Mulayam and at which&nbsp;some more tough decisions were expected to be taken.

After the meeting, the chief minister recommended to Governor Ram Naik that Shivpal, Narad Rai and Om Prakash Singh (all cabinet ministers) and Sayeda Shadab Fatima (minister&nbsp;of state,&nbsp;independent charge) be sacked. This was immediately accepted.

While the meeting was underway, hundreds of Akhilesh&#39;s supporters collected outside his residence, raising slogans in his favour.

Significantly, before Akhilesh announced the sacking of Shivpal and the three other ministers, Ramgopal issued a letter written to party workers, expressing support for the chief minister and warning those opposing him.

&quot;Those who oppose Akhilesh won&#39;t be able to show their faces in the legislative assembly. Where Akhilesh is, victory follows,&quot; he said in the letter.

After his sacking, Shivpal met Mulayam at his residence.

Hours later, he announced that the SP chief had expelled Ramgopal from the party for six years.

Shivpal told mediapersons that Ramgopal was colluding with the BJP and had thrice met a senior leader of the saffron party to save himself and his son from a CBI probe in connection with their&nbsp;alleged involvement in the Yadav Singh Noida scam probe.

He said he was not worried about being dropped from the government and declared that the state Assembly elections would be fought under the leadership of Mulayam.

Launching a scathing attack on Ramgopal, Shivpal said he was tarnishing the image of the SP by dabbling in corruption, colluding with the BJP and weakening Mulayam&#39;s leadership.

&quot;On Mulayam&#39;s directive, Ramgopal is being stripped of his posts of party spokesman and national general secretary and is being expelled from the party for six years,&quot; Shivpal said, giving rise to intense speculation about an imminent split. 
 
(PTI)

 
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The chief minister and his father have both sacked each others loyalists, giving rise to intense speculation about an imminent split

The ruling Samajwadi Party appeared to be headed for a split today as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father and party supremo Mulayam Singh were engaged in an open face-off, sacking each other's loyalists Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav. While Akhilesh sacked Shivpal, his uncle and the party's state unit chief, along with three other "pro-Amar Singh" ministers from his Cabinet, his father hit back by dismissing Ramgopal, his cousin who is an Akhilesh loyalist and the SP's national general secretary, from the party for six years. The fast-paced developments unfolded this morning when Akhilesh held a meeting of party legislators, a day ahead of a mega meeting of party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and ministers called by Mulayam and at which some more tough decisions were expected to be taken. After the meeting, the chief minister recommended to Governor Ram Naik that Shivpal, Narad Rai and Om Prakash Singh (all cabinet ministers) and Sayeda Shadab Fatima (minister of state, independent charge) be sacked. This was immediately accepted. While the meeting was underway, hundreds of Akhilesh's supporters collected outside his residence, raising slogans in his favour. Significantly, before Akhilesh announced the sacking of Shivpal and the three other ministers, Ramgopal issued a letter written to party workers, expressing support for the chief minister and warning those opposing him. "Those who oppose Akhilesh won't be able to show their faces in the legislative assembly. Where Akhilesh is, victory follows," he said in the letter. After his sacking, Shivpal met Mulayam at his residence. Hours later, he announced that the SP chief had expelled Ramgopal from the party for six years. Shivpal told mediapersons that Ramgopal was colluding with the BJP and had thrice met a senior leader of the saffron party to save himself and his son from a CBI probe in connection with their alleged involvement in the Yadav Singh Noida scam probe. He said he was not worried about being dropped from the government and declared that the state Assembly elections would be fought under the leadership of Mulayam. Launching a scathing attack on Ramgopal, Shivpal said he was tarnishing the image of the SP by dabbling in corruption, colluding with the BJP and weakening Mulayam's leadership. "On Mulayam's directive, Ramgopal is being stripped of his posts of party spokesman and national general secretary and is being expelled from the party for six years," Shivpal said, giving rise to intense speculation about an imminent split. (PTI)

India: Samajwadi Party on brink of split?

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