At last things are going right for Mulayam Singh Yadav. Former socialist, former defence minister, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister -- Yadav and his Samajwadi Party had been feeling seriously disempowered in the last few months after they lost power in UP and a government of the Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati came to power, over which SP had absolutely no leverage whatsoever.
Rahul Gandhi, who was also present at the event, refused to comment on UP CM's proposal.
Samajwadi party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Dimple is the first lady from the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister's family to take a plunge into politics.
It may be a little late in the day, but Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had apparently realised the futility of shaking hands with his one time sworn political foe and Bhartiya Janata Party rebel, Kalyan Singh. Mulayam, who had struck a alliance with Kalyan apparently in the hope of building a new backward axis in a caste-ridden Uttar Pradesh, had finally decided to dump the latter.
The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday demanded a ban on Bajrang Dal in the wake of attacks on churches and missionaries in Orissa and Karnataka, saying when there is a ban on SIMI the same action can be taken against the saffron outfit.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a "a nice man with no independence" to run his government the way he wanted to.
Notwithstanding the hiccups over seat sharing in Uttar Pradesh between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party , SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday claimed that the two parties will face the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in 'perfect coordination'.Mulayam told media persons that despite the visible tug-of-war over sharing the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the country's most populous state, all was well between the two parties.
Stay away from violence and work for the party was Mulayam Singh Yadav's message to Samajwadi Party workers on the party's 9th national convention in Lucknow.
Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma, who has been attacking Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Monday hit out at at the SP leader over communal violence in Uttar Pradesh and claimed there was threat to his life as he was the only Congress leader speaking against Mulayam.
The Congress on Monday dismissed Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's view that coalition politics has come to stay in the country, saying he has not said "something new" and the party is not "bothered."
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has come under attack by Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, on Friday advised him to learn some decorum as the way in which he was talking is not Congress culture.
The Samajwadi Party on Monday alleged that its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son and Uttar Pradesh unit president Akhilesh have been put under "house arrest" to prevent them from leading a three-day agitation against the Bahujan Samaj Party government, a charge denied by the district administration.
The CM flew to Allahabad on Saturday morning and reached the Triveni Sangam -- confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers -- to personally see the arrangements there.
The high court has dismissed the Gyanvapi mosque management committee's appeal.
Sure enough, the two UP satraps would need to initiate steps to put their respective houses in order and to rejuvenate their badly disillusioned party ranks following the humiliating drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections. However, whether the two regional titans would care to introspect about their own failings remains a million dollar question. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Ahead of the Parliament session beginning November 22, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is meeting leaders of the United Progressive Alliance constituents and outside supporters to firm up a strategy to unitedly face any Opposition onslaught on issues like the Foreign Direct Investment in retail and price hike.
Insiders say that Amar Singh has convinced the Samajwadi Party supremo that he alone could help him fulfill his prime ministerial ambitions. Sharat Pradhan reports
The closure of Reliance Fresh outlets in Lucknow is a boost for the Samajwadi Party.
The agency, after procuring the Supreme Court order on March 3, studied it over the weekend after which a PE was registered on Monday evening.
Lucknow's Hazratganj police station on Saturday refused to register an FIR by IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who was allegedly threatened by Samajwadi Party supremo and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Mulayam laid bare his anger for the first time after the SP's defeat in the UP assembly election fought under the leadership of Akhilesh.
Raking up the issue of the misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday said fighting with the government is not easy as it can use Central Bureau of Investigation and put one in jail. Yadav had earlier also attacked Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government blaming misuse of CBI by it.
Describing China as the biggest threat to the country, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav slammed the United Progressive Alliance for being a "silent spectator" to alleged Chinese encroachment of Indian territory.
For the second time in four days, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today expressed unhappiness over functioning of the government led by his son Akhilesh, and asked those in responsible positions to focus on "public interest" rather than "self interest".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
Reacting to Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's apology to Muslims for tying up with those responsible for Babri demolition, his political rivals on Thursday termed it opportunism and a gimmick to gain mileage ahead of the next assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Terming the proposed legislation on SC/ST quota in promotion as anti-national, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said his party would review its stand on supporting the UPA government from outside, if the Bill is passed.
Mulayam Singh's bid to get a third front on his side is to get into a position where he can barter for the prime minister's job with the support of either the BJP or the Congress, says Seema Mustafa.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
While the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh is under attack over a string of rape incidents, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is drawing flak for saying that the state has the lowest number of such cases in the country despite a population of 21 crore.
The Dedh Ishqiya actress performed at the Samajwadi Party's annual extravaganza in Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's native village Safai in Uttar Pradesh.
Even as Uttar Pradesh chief minister designate Akhilesh Yadav was awaiting his coronation on Thursday, his father and Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav was busy giving final touches to the formation of the son's first government.
With his "extravagant" birthday celebrations drawing flak and questions being raised on the source of funds, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday asserted that state money was not spent on the celebrations and dubbed those making it an issue as "ignorant".
United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee spent the whole of Tuesday in Lucknow, meeting not only Congress legislators but also those belonging to the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday took exception to the way the national census was being carried out and demanded that it be held on the basis of caste, to ascertain the number of people belonging to backward classes.Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, Prasad said there was a 'huge conspiracy' behind the way the current national census was being carried out.
Notwithstanding former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh's claims that his "illness" had forced to step down, party sources said it was a deliberate sideline by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's son Akhilesh Yadav that prompted Singh to withdraw in anger.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday sought to downplay the resignation of his close associate Amar Singh from key posts of the party, saying there were no differences with him.
Indications from the Congress are that the party is veering round to the view that it cannot allow any troublesome ally to dictate terms on an issue like presidential poll and that the party has to prepare for any eventuality