Hindustan Times (Patiala)

SP needs no coalition: Mulayam

- Hemendra Chaturvedi hemendra.chaturvedi@hindustant­imes.com n

A day after national president of Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav expressed willingnes­s to be part of a national coalition against BJP, party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav expressed a contrary view.

Mulayam said in Mainpuri on Sunday that SP was capable of winning on its own and did not require a coalition.

The statement comes as a setback to efforts for a coalition after both BSP president Mayawati and Akhilesh’s positive signals. Before the UP assembly election also, Mulayam had opposed the party’s alliance with the Congress.

Replying to a question, Mulayam said that SP was capable of winning on its own.

He also justified former chief minister and SP president Akhilesh Yadav’s doubts on electronic voting machines (EVMs).

“Akhilesh Yadav is stating this on the basis of reports about anomalies in working of EVMs,” Mulayam said.

Mulayam had also come to Mainpuri after the declaratio­n of results and had then blamed Akhilesh for the ‘insult’ imparted to him during the fiveyear regime of the Samajwadi Party.

However, on Sunday in Mainpuri, he was relaxed, accompanie­d by SP MLA from Karhal, Sobran Singh Yadav, and other SP leaders.

Yadav went down the memory lane and spoke about days when he was a teacher in an intermedia­te college in Mainpuri when he began his career. He recollecte­d his stint as a teacher and asked his students to work hard for success. He was able to identify the residents by name and interacted with the villagers

 ??  ?? SP supremo Mulayam Singh
SP supremo Mulayam Singh

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