The announcement also makes it clear that the Samajwadi Party is now no longer interested in any kind of alliance with any party, as Mulayam himself stated.
At the root of the conflict within the Yadav family and the party was the authority to select candidates for the coming election, and both Akhilesh and Shivpal had been claiming that their word should be final in preparing the candidate list. Both, however, had agreed to accept whatever Mulayam would decide. And using this power, Mulayam made it clear that he trusted brother Shivpal’s winning formula more than son Akhilesh’s ‘development’ plank. The list, thus, ignores many Akhilesh loyalists — although their names may figure in the next list as 78 names are yet to be announced. It also includes the names of at least three individuals with a criminal background, and eight ministers whom Akhilesh had sacked from his team.
The inclusion of Atiq Ahmed, the Allahabad strongman who will now be the party’s candidate from Kanpur Cantonment, and Sigbatullah Ansari of the Ansari brothers of the erstwhile Qaumi Ekta Dal, is a signal that Akhilesh’s objections to these names was of little importance to Mulayam and Shivpal.
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(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:oneindia.com)
