While all political parties and people expected that the “cycle” election symbol of the Samajwadi Party could be frozen and that the two factions of the party would be contesting the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election 2017 on different symbols, the Election Commission (EC) shook up the political environment in the state on 16 January declaring that the Akhilesh Yadav-led faction was the Samajwadi Party and therefore entitled to use the symbol.
There were immediate cheers and celebrations at Akhilesh Yadav’s residence. Soon enough, his supporters tried to take control of the party office as well, even as there was gloom in the Mulayam Singh Yadav-Shivpal Yadav camp.
But more than the mere physical control of the party office, the decision has caused a sudden upheaval in the state’s politics. Not only has the party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav lost control over the party and its symbol, but all other parties, rather complacent till now hoping that the two factions would lose much of their clout if contesting under different symbols, have gone into a panic mode.
On Monday afternoon, Mulayam Singh Yadav had told his supporters that Akhilesh Yadav was “no well-wisher of Muslims” and that he would contest the election against his son. And, the Bharatiya Janata Party was announcing its first list of contestants when the Election Commission order swept away all the headlines.
