FATHER, SON FIRM, SP TRUCE FAILS

Signatures not matching, says SP leader

The battleground in the Samajwadi Party family feud kept shifting between Delhi and Lucknow on Tuesday, with the Akhilesh Yadav faction, represented by the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav, staking claim to the cycle symbol at the Election Commission, even as another attempt for truce between party patriach Mulayam Singh Yadav and his rebel son in the Uttar Pradesh capital came to naught.

The reason for the reconciliatory meeting between the father and son failing, sources said was the tough demands put forward by Akhilesh Yadav, which included banishing his uncle Shivpal Yadav to Delhi, purportedly to play a “national role,” and the chief minister having a say in the final list of candidates for the coming Assembly polls in the state. This would mean that candidates with criminal records would be dropped.

The chief minister reportedly agreed to step down from the national president’s post if his conditions were accepted. Mulayam Singh Yadav apparently did not concede any ground on these issues. Page 8: Row erupts over Netaji’s signatures

The battleground in the Samajwadi Party family feud kept shifting between Delhi and Lucknow on Tuesday.

The day began with senior leader Ram Gopal Yadav reaching the national capital and staking claim to the election symbol of the Samajwadi Party.

Ram Gopal Yadav later remained closeted with his core team of SP leaders — Naresh Agrawal and Kiranmoy Nanda — at his Lodhi Road residence. His confidante, Mr Agrawal, was seen going to meet the EC again later in the day. He said he would do what he can to bring about a rapprochement.

“Anything is possible. Who would have thought that their expulsion would be revoked,” he said.

Meanwhile, two controversies emerged within the party, adding a new angle to the ongoing strife.

The Mulayam faction has claimed that the expulsion of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav was not taken back on paper and, hence, they remained expelled when they convened the “emergency national convention”.

The Akhilesh faction, on the other hand, has claimed that the signatures of Mulayam Singh Yadav on the two letters issued on January 1 did not match.

The first letter, issued on the morning of January 1, declared that the SP convention was unconstitutional and party leaders were asked not to attend the same. The second letter was addressed to party vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda, sacking him from the party.

Mr Nanda claims that both the signatures are different.

It may be recalled that at the SP convention, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had also hinted that his father’s name was being misused and that letters were actually being issued by his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav who managed to get his father sign on them.