Mulayam has convened a meeting on Saturday of the 393 candidates who have been allotted tickets by him. Party insiders said the meeting was very crucial as the SP chief was likely gauge the sentiments of the candidates and conduct a fresh review of the list amid fears that the battle for control in SP left the party cadres divided and highly confused at grassroots level.
The choice of candidates for 175 seats by Shivpal has apparently not gone down well with his defiant nephew Akhilesh who, according to party insiders, is understood to have prepared his own list of preferred candidates for all the 403 UP assembly seats and sent it to his father and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
'Mulayam has by design cornered the people's attention back to the party and Akhilesh.' 'People were only talking of Modi and demonetisation, but now suddenly everybody is talking of Akhilesh and the SP.' 'My personal subjective impression is that the SP is neck and neck with the BJP.'
The war in Samajwadi Party was far from over on Sunday with a defiant Ram Gopal Yadav declaring Akhilesh Yadav as party president at the national convention in Lucknow which was declared as "unconstitutional" by supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
'They (BJP) can claim of winning even 82 seats, despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has only 80 seats'
Kicking off Uttar Pradesh poll campaign, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Saturday took a dig at infighting in the Mulayam Singh Yadav family and targeted the ruling Samajwadi Party as well as the Bahujan Samaj Party, saying neither party is bothered about development of the state.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Monday, he sought to emphasise that he had charted out a comprehensive development plan for the state.
Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah not only urged his party men to reclaim the government in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 assembly elections, but also advised them not to cross the line. Sharat Pradhan reports
The rift between Samajwadi Party strongman Mulayam Singh Yadav and 'obedient' Akhilesh grew even wider with the father openly backing his son's foes in the party
Shivpal Yadav said that his Mulayam will head the new party.
Mulayam announced that sacked minister Gayatri Prajapati will be taken back in the UP cabinet.
The IAS association has demanded revocation of the order even as the issue of suspension of the lady officer has snowballed into a major controversy.
Opposition MLAs flung paper balls at Governor Ram Naik and marshals frantically deflected the projectiles with files as the opening day of the maiden session of the new Uttar Pradesh assembly presented a spectacle of complete mayhem.
Throughout the governor's 35-minute address, Samajwadi Party legislator Rajesh Yadav blew a whistle.
Family feuds, in what are essentially family-run outfits, have cast a shadow over the reunification efforts of Janata Party.
As many as 69 assembly constituencies in the Yadav heartland, considered crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state, went to the polls in this phase.
Complaints of electronic voting machine malfunctioning poured in from several booths on Tuesday during the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha polls which saw voters turning out in large numbers to cast their vote in 116 seats, including all constituencies of Gujarat and Kerala.
The 90-minute meeting is being seen as an attempt at reconciliation between Shivpal, a Cabinet minister, and Akhilesh after intervention of the latter's father Mulayam.
Mulayam said the new chief minister will be chosen by the Samajwadi Party.
Our work in last five years and the problems people are facing due to demonetisation will lead us to victory, he said.
Mulayam on Sunday blamed the defeat on son Akhilesh's decision to ally with a Congress, which he said had tried its best to "ruin" him.
'In an alliance, you are forced to overlook loyal workers.' 'It sends a negative message and workers turn against the party.' 'I have forbidden this alliance.'
But he doesn't want to shut the door completely on the Yadav family as that could create problems for him in 2019.
With Diwali failing to thaw strained ties in the Mulayam clan, a show of strength is on the cards as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav takes out his 'Rath Yatra' on November 3, two days before ruling SP's silver jubilee show organised by his uncle Shivpal Yadav.
'If Muslims who are 20 percent of UP's population feel the SP has no future they will go with the BSP. Even if 10 percent Muslim vote goes to the BSP every equation will change.'
Apparently hinting at Amar Singh, UP CM says 'we will not let outsiders drive a wedge between us'.
Shivpal loyalists have been denied tickets.
An Uttar Pradesh government panel on Sunday accused a Bharatiya Janata Party MP of inciting Saharanpur riots, besides blaming laxity by local officials, sparking a war of words among parties with BJP dismissing the report as "politically motivated" and an attempt by ruling Samajwadi Party to hide its "failures".
'If these two parties come together, there could be amalgamation of OBC, Dalits and Muslim votes.'
The past two years have been all about navigating the choppy waters of family connections, complicated intrigue and courts of appeal that have a tendency to cross each other out
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Congress president Sonia Gandhi may be poles apart on most counts, but they seem to be acting in a strikingly similar manner when it comes to fixing responsibility for the debacle of their respective parties in the recently concluded LokSabha poll. Sharat Pradhan reports
Although Mulayam Singh has made public his preference for Akhilesh as his successor, younger son Prateek's presence in the rival camp hasn't gone unnoticed.
SP-Congress alliance is likely to consolidate Muslim vote in their favour.
In an open rebellion that could split the ruling Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday night "declared" his own candidates for 235 seats against the official list announced by his father and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for the upcoming assembly polls.
Akhilesh believes his catchment area is the 4.1 million new voters who are 18 to 19 years old.
The EC, which reserved its order on the dispute over 'cycle' symbol, has kept both sides guessing with leaders of warring camps exploring various scenarios as little time is left for process of filing nominations to start for the first phase of the staggered polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP wants to win a state where it has been out of power for 15 years. The Congress wants to make its mark in a state where it has been a bit player for nearly 30 years. And the BSP wants to recapture power it lost 5 years ago.
Ruling Samajwadi Party appeared to be headed for a split on Sunday as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his party supremo and father Mulayam Singh were engaged in an open face-off, sacking each other's loyalists Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav.
Who would be footing bill for what was supposedly a "family affair" could be anybody's guess.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances