On Saturday, senior SP leaders including Shivpal Singh Yadav, Azam Khan, Om Prakash Singh and Narad Rai met Mulayam Singh and held discussions on the possible way out of the infighting.
The sources privy to the confabulations told IANS that while both Shivpal and Mulayam Singh’s aide Amar Singh told the party chief that they were “ready to be the sacrificial lambs” if it brought the warring father-son together, the truce offer was turned down by Mulayam himself.
Mulayam Singh apparently stressed on his stand that Akhilesh Yadav first step down as the SP National President, after which his demand for a larger say in ticket distribution will be considered.
The Akhilesh camp declined the offer. The Chief Minister wanted a “three-month free hand to win the polls” and then back off in favour of his father.
