A day after Samajwadi Secular Morcha convenor Shivpal Singh Yadav announced to oppose all family members expect Mulayam Singh Yadav in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party patriarch on Sunday demonstrated that he stood with his son Akhilesh Yadav by joining his political rally at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Sunday.
Mulayam’s decision to share the dais with his son Akhilesh after a long time came as a big blow to the Shivpal who has been claiming that his newly-formed Samajwadi Secular Morcha has the blessings of Netaji (Mulayam). Barely a day earlier, Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, had announced to oppose all the family members except Mulayam Singh Yadav in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
“I give my blessings to this young and energetic Samajwadi Party. I am very happy to see that so many youngsters have come here to join the cycle rally of the party,” Mulayam said in the presence of Akhilesh and party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.
Mulayam disclosed that Akhilesh had urged him to come to this function on the conclusion of the SP cycle yatra.
He asked youths to be disciplined and called on girls to actively participate in nation-building.
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mulayam said that SP had never ditched the youths and had fulfilled all the promises it had made.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party for its policies like demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.
When contacted for his comment on the developments in Delhi, Shivpal refused to say anything. He, however, claimed that Netaji was supporting him with his heart and he was fighting for the restoration of his honour.
“Don’t go by where Netaji is going. He will be with the SSM at the crucial stage when it will be required,” he commented.
On Saturday, Shivpal had said that the Samajwadi Secular Morcha, would not support any candidate barring Netaji in the 2019 Lok Sabha election even if the candidate was from the ‘family’.
“We are busy expanding our base and more people and leaders are willing to join the SSM. Our new political party will play a significant role in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. We will play a prominent role in strengthening the secular bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party,” Shivpal had said on Saturday.
He added that the time for patch-up or any understanding with SP leadership was over.
“I waited for two years before taking this decision,” he added.
After breaking away from his nephew-led Samajwadi Party, Shivpal has begun from the scratch. From convincing disgruntled samajwadis to join his party to launching social media campaigns for bringing more youths into the fold, Yadav has been busy in strengthening his party.
According to sources, preparations to make the presence of SSM felt in UP politics are going on in full swing and leaders from all over the state are visiting Shivpal at his house in Lucknow everyday.
Shivpal said he would fight for social justice through his SSM.
