ND Tiwari for Mulayam Singh as PM

Veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari has decided to throw a surprise — one that his party is bound to notice.

The three-time UP Chief Minister met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Saturday and blessed him to go on to become the country’s Prime Minister. “Mulayam Singh Yadav desh chalayen aur Akhilesh pradesh chalayen (may Mulayam run the country and Akhilesh run the state),” was how Tiwari blessed the father-son duo after meeting them.

“The state’s people have a lot of expectations from Akhilesh,” he told reporters after the meeting, which has set the rumour mills spinning. When asked about his parent party, Tiwari said, “Which Congress?”

Political watchers are already speculating whether the old Congress warhorse is out to change stables just before the coming Lok Sabha election. Recently at a public function, Mulayam had sung paeans to Tiwari on the latter’s birthday and even invited him to come and stay in Lucknow. On Saturday, Tiwari himself seemed to be toying with the idea. Responding to a reporter’s query about shifting to Lucknow, he said “Why not? The weather here is good, and the political weather is even better.”