Fathers and Sons

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav are in the headlines for all the wrong reasons . The father who founded the Samajwadi party more than 25 years ago does not want to let go. His advisers, Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh have succeeded in engineering an all out war between the father and son.

Now that the seven-phase Assembly elections are announced it is time to patch up or all may be lost. The two Samajwadi Party factions have been asked by the Election Commission of India to submit all relevant documents, including affidavits from the party’s MLAs, MLCs and the MPs by January 9, in support of their respective claims to the election symbol.

Akhilesh Yadav gathered affidavits in his support from almost 90% of the MLAs, MLCs and the MPs of the party and is staking his claim over the party symbol, “cycle.”

Mulayam Singh accepts reality?

A late night meet between Mulayam Singh, Shivpal Singh and Amar Singh led to fresh speculations of a possible truce. The SP party insiders confirmed that “for the sake of the party” both Amar Singh and Shivpal Yadav offered to keep themselves away from the state politics. The extraordinary national convention of the party had adopted resolutions sacking Shivpal Yadav from the post of the party’s state unit president and expelling Amar Singh from the party.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav has to make the truce public and declare that he has made his son the new president of the party till the elections are over,” said a senior Samajwadi Party leader.