Father-son meeting raises hope of patch-up in SP

Even as the Election Commission in New Delhi fixed January 13 as the date for hearing the Samajwadi Party factions led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav to settle the dispute over control of the party and its election symbol, in Lucknow signals of a rapprochement between the party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son, Chief Minister Akhilish Yadav, were again in sight on Tuesday. Both the father and son met in Lucknow and discussed the issues that have created a rift in the party. The closed-door meeting between the two, held at the 5 Vikramaditya Marg residence of Mulayam, lasted for about an hour-and-a-half.

Interestingly, Amar Singh, Ram Gopal Yadav and even Shivpal Yadav, who have been at the helm of the feud in the party, were not around when the meeting between the father and son took place.
Rumours were rife that Mulayam wants Amar Singh and Shivpal Yadav to stay away from all election-related decisions. Besides, he wants Akhilesh to have all powers that Ram Gopal currently holds.
Although there was no formal declaration either by Mulayam or Akhilesh regarding their deliberations, sources close to power centres in the party claimed that both the leaders deliberated upon ticket distribution, the main bone of contention that irked Akhilesh to the level of going against his father.

According to sources, Mulayam tried to convince Akhilesh that selection of candidates would take place after a consensus in the party, and especially with his (Akhilesh’s) consultation.

The SP feud had erupted on the issue of ticket distribution. Akhilesh did not agree with the list of names released by Shivpal, and issued his own list of candidates. When both leaders decided to stick to their guns, Akhilesh demanded Mulayam to hand over the party reins to him for three months until the elections were over.

“I will give you back the party after winning the assembly polls and then you can make all decisions regarding the chief minister as well as the party president.” This is what Akhilesh Yadav told Mulayam.

However, trying to resolve the differences, on Tuesday, Mulayam assured Akhilesh that he would continue to be the chief ministerial candidate, although he maintained his own claim on the party presidentship. Mulayam has also retained the power of giving party symbols to candidates with him.

Sources also mentioned that Mulayam has asked Akhilesh to withdraw his claim on the party and its symbol, for which he has approached the Election Commission.

There are reports that the Election Commission has sent the documents submitted by each faction of the SP to the other, for their counters. The Election Commission is expected to announce its decision anytime this week.

Earlier in the morning, Mulayam, before meeting his son went to convey his condolences on the death of Fazlur Rahman Waizi, the Imam of Teele Wali Masjid. At this moment also, when Mulayam informally spoke to media, his language was quite toned down. He emphasised on party’s unity and said it would not split in future as well.

“There is no tussle in the party although there are some misunderstandings and the same are being sorted,” Mulayam Singh Yadav

Meanwhile, there are also rumours that Akhilesh may meet Rahul Gandhi during this week to talk about the alliance. It is to be noted that Mulayam and Shivpal were not in favour of any alliance whereas Akhilesh is keen on having a seat arrangement with Congress.