Hours after he told the Election Commission that he was still the national president of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam Singh Yadav signalled a softening of stand on Monday evening as he claimed that the party was “united” and Akhilesh Yadav would be the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister after the elections.
“For the benefit of the entire state, our party stands united. There is no question of division whatsoever. We will begin the campaign soon. Akhilesh will be the next chief minister, there is no doubt about that,” ANI quoted Mulayam as saying on his return from Delhi to Lucknow.
Mulayam had earlier refrained from naming Akhilesh as the SP’s chief ministerial candidate, maintaining that the party’s MLAs would elect their leader.
Speaking to mediapersons in the Capital earlier in the day, Mulayam claimed that there were “no differences” between him and Akhilesh. In an apparent reference to Ram Gopal Yadav, Mulayam said “one person has influenced” Akhilesh, which has led to “problems in the party”.
Mulayam’s comments are being seen as an attempt to resolve the factional feud, which has led to uncertainty among the party’s likely candidates and workers ahead of the assembly polls.
