Notwithstanding the exit poll that has given Samjawadi Party a fantastic lead, party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, a consummate politician, has sent a feeler to the Congress, say sources in Lucknow.
Amid talk about the possibility of two parties forging a tie-up in Uttar Pradesh after the upcoming assembly polls, Yadav said, "We will continue to support the Congress-led government at the Centre. That's because we wish to keep communal forces at bay."
Rejecting reports of a deal with Congress, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said on Saturday that he had proposed the name of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two others as he felt the Congress appeared to be hesitant in naming Pranab Mukherjee for the President's post.
Assembly sources, however, said they were yet to receive a formal communication from the government in this regard.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today contended that he had not violated the model code of conduct by giving "reward" to people during Holi, saying it was part of the festivities in Uttar Pradesh.
Seeking to wriggle out of his controversial remarks on rape, Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday said "no one respects women more than Samajwadi Party" but stuck to his stand that the "wrong" anti-rape law should be amended.
"The people of the state will teach a lesson to those conspiring to dismiss the state government," Yadav said.
Ruling alliance members heartily cheered Yadav with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday pulled out of the 'grand alliance' in poll-bound Bihar, saying it felt "humiliated" as it was not consulted while deciding seats and would contest the assembly elections in the state on its own.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday surprised everyone in Lok Sabha by saying that his party would change its view towards Bharatiya Janata Party, if it changes its "policy and mindset" towards Muslims and Kashmir.
Why was Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav forced to cancel his trip to the Aligarh Muslim University on Monday? Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan reports
The special cell of the Delhi police had in August this year sought the court's permission to close the case, registered on Bhushan's complaint alleging that the CD was doctored and seeking a probe into its authenticity.
Lashing out at the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre to which his party has extended outside support, the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday charged it with trying to send him to jail with the help of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
BSP chief Mayawati had made all her MLAs resign on Saturday, to prevent any of them crossing over to the SP.
Shivpal Yadav will contest the elections from Jaswantnagar, the constituency sought for him by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
'If you interpret Akhilesh's statement, he is clearly saying Shivpal wants to become chief minister.'
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav appears to be quite cut up with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi over the latter's surprise visit to the relief camps for victims of communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in Western Uttar Pradesh.
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
Hurt by constant jibes from senior Congress leaders, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday hit back saying that he has enough evidence to 'shock' the Congress and that he has nothing to be afraid of the cases filed against him.
The prestige of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and that of Bhartiya Janata Party star campaigner Uma Bharti will be at stake during the fifth round of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections on Thursday. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav was on Tuesday not allowed to unveil the statue of Ram Manohar Lohia in Lucknow following which he had a scuffle with the police personnel.
"We will not fire a single bullet on Ram bhakts. They will be allowed to perform their pujas peacefully," he told reporters in New Delhi before leaving for Lucknow.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said on Tuesday that the government forced them to behave badly in Parliament by tearing the Women Reservation Bill copy.
The poll panel has thrown an unprecedented security blanket over Kanpur, the chief minister's stronghold.
Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav told mediapersons in New Delhi on Wednesday that his party has not taken any decision about projecting someone as the chief ministerial candidate in the forthcoming elections of the UP assembly.
'All efforts for a negotiated settlement have failed,' the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in an interview to Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi.
The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday suffered a major setback when it lost the prestigious Firozabad Lok Sabha seat, with party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law losing to actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar of the Congress, by a huge margin of over 85,000 votes. Babbar, a former Member of Parliament from Agra who rebelled against the SP and joined the Congress before the Lok Sabha elections in May, secured 3,12,728 votes while Dimple Yadav got 2,27,385 votes.
The Samajwadi Party can form the government in Uttar Pradesh without the support of the Congress, if initial leads turn into actual wins for the party. The party is leading at 171 seats and it can take the support of Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal and others to reach the magic figure of 202 -- the number needed to form the state government. According to figures available till now, SP has emerged as the leading party in UP, the Bahujan Samaj Party is at second place.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is caught in an escalating spat between Delhi's Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari and Uttar Pradesh Minorities Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, both baying for each other.
The speculation gained strength after the sulking socialist leader Shivpal Yadav recently met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amid reports of strains in the SP-led alliance.
Amar Singh has resigned as the general secretary of the Samajwadi Party. The leader has also quit the membership of its parliamentary board.
Claiming that his party could come to power at the Centre, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said the present political equations indicate that both Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party would not be able to get a majority in the 2014 general election.
Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma found himself in the midst of a fresh controversy over his remarks that Mulayam Singh Yadav allegedly has "terrorist links", with Samajwadi Party members disrupting the Lok Sabha on Monday demanding his removal from the Cabinet.
Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Samajwadi Party, tells Aditi Phadnis what his party's agenda will be if it comes to power
Unmindful of the deep resentment within his own ranks and file against his new found bonhomie with once sowrn political adversary and rebel Bhartiya Janata Party leader Kalyan Singh , Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday termed his relationship with Kalyan as a "bond of friendship."
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday complained that Congress has not been treating his party well but despite that he ruled out withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance government.
"We have thoroughly examined whatever papers we have received. The chief secretary was found innocent in the inquiry conducted by the government in the disproportionate assets case," the UP chief minister told reporters in New Delhi.
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