“THIRD FRONT WILLWIN”
Mulayam bets big on a non- Congress, non- BJP government but rules himself out as a prime ministerial candidate
Sarkar ka iqbal khatam ho gaya hai ( The UPA Government has lost its moral right to rule).” Mulayam Singh Yadav is preparing for early elections and he’s letting UPA know it. Talking to INDIA TODAY at his 16 Ashoka Road home in Delhi, the Samajwadi Party ( SP) chief said: “UPA sarkar ke hone na hone ka koi fark nahi rah gaya hai. Sarkar apne aap ja rahi hai ( It doesn’t matter whether the Government stays or goes. The UPA Government is going on its own).”
Yadav made it clear that he will not do anything to precipitate the collapse of the Manmohan Singh government. “We do not want to bring it down. We also do not want to create any obstacles in its functioning. People will accuse us of toppling the Government. It will unnecessarily gain sympathy,” he said.
The SP chief said his party will go it alone at the next General Elections and has started gearing up for it by preparing a manifesto which would emphasise the development of farmers— SP’S core constituency. Significantly, SP would also expand its presence beyond Uttar Pradesh by putting up candidates in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
Mulayam is betting on a third front government. “Neither Congress nor BJP will get a majority,” he said. “Post- election, a third front will form a government on its own.” He insists he is anti- Congress and anti- BJP and will keep his distance from both. But he ruled himself out as a prime ministerial candidate: “Where is the question of a prime minister? Let the polls be held. At present, there’s only one goal— that of strengthening the Socialist movement and the party to ensure we get maximum seats in the Lok Sabha.” Mastram Kapoor, editor of Collected Works of Ram Manohar Lohia and a third front ideologue, says, “Once the required seats are won, a nonCongress, non- BJP, Left- backed Mulayam Singh government at the Centre may become a reality.”