Expressing annoyance over the Samajwadi Party (SP) joining hands with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav said that Akhilesh Yadav had “finished” the party by deciding to contest only 50 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
“By contesting just 40 of the total 80 seats in the State, Akhilesh has finished half the party. Delaying the announcement of candidates is further weakening the prospects of the party,” Mulayam said while addressing party workers at SP State headquarters here in the presence of media persons on Thursday.
This is the first time that Mulayam has come out openly against his son and SP chief after the party stitched an alliance with the BSP.
“The fight of the SP is with the BJP. The party workers should pull up their socks to fight and win majority of the seats that the party is contesting,” he said while conceding that even as the SP was forging alliances, the BJP was far ahead in preparations and had already sent its observers to different constituencies.
The remarks come days after SP patriarch created a stir in Parliament, saying he wished that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power.
The SP patriarch urged the party workers to approach him if they want a party ticket to contest the parliamentary polls and suggested that he could “change” any decision taken by Akhilesh.
