Shivpal’s show of strength in Lucknow today

LUCKNOW : Samajwadi Party (SP) rebel Shivpal Yadav, who has recently floated Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM), will hold his first show of strength in Lucknow on Sunday. Party sources said workers from all 75 districts in the state are expected to converge on Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan to attend the ‘Janakrosh’ rally. The rally aims to target both the SP and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) rebel Shivpal Yadav, who has recently floated Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM), will hold his first show of strength in Lucknow on Sunday.

Party sources said workers from all 75 districts in the state are expected to converge on Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan to attend the ‘Janakrosh’ rally.

The rally aims to target both the SP and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Already, the party leaders have painted the entire roads leading to Lucknow with “Taiyaar Hai Hum” (We are ready) and ‘Shivpal Hain Bemisal (unparallel Shivpal)’ hoardings, banners, and ‘red-yellow-green’ flags.

Former minister and Jaswantnagar MLA, Shivpal had floated the SSM in August this year after a protracted Yadav family feud between him and the founder president Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son and the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for the

control of the party.

After the year-long feud, Akhilesh took reins of the party and Shivpal was sidelined.

Shivpal first floated the SSM and then registered a political party with the name of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) with the Election Commission (EC). It was at the same venue that the independent MLA and a minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, Raghuraj Pratap Singh, too held a show of strength as he too announced the formation of his own party, though his party is awaiting registration with the EC. The rally also is being seen as an attempt by Shivpal to erase the popular perception that he was a BJP stooge. Earlier too, and also at a rally in Firozabad, the SP national president had referred to floating of parties by Shivpal or Raja Bhaiya as “Team A-B-C-D of BJP”. Shivpal, the day before the rally, said: “The rally is against the BJP governments at the centre and the state. On one hand, there was no letup in price rise or unemployment and on the other demonetisation and GST has created an economic crisis for people and the country. Traders or farmers, and people from most sections of the society are badly hit. People are akroshit (angry).

Before this, Shivpal held a roadshow in Firozabad Lok Sabha constituency from where he is likely to contest in 2019. After, Janakrosh rally, Shivpal’s political party will do its first national convention in Lucknow.