Akhilesh Yadav gets dad’s nod, to be party’s CM face

In an obvious attempt to pacify UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party on Monday formally announced his name as the party’s CM face in the upcoming elections. The move, party vice-president Kironmoy Nanda said, had the approval of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Recently, SP president and the chief minister’s father had refused to name him as the part’s chief ministerial candidate. Mr Nanda, while briefing the media, said that there were no differences within the party on this issue.

Mr Nanda said that there was no alternative to Mr Akhilesh Yadav, who had done tremendous work during his tenure. “There is no confusion within the party on this issue”, he said.

Asked to respond to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s statement, Mr Nanda said, “This was about a constitutional procedure which requires the legislators to elect their leader and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav was talking about this”.

Mr Nanda’s statement comes a day after senior party leader Ram Gopal Yadav wrote a letter to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav warning that if Samajwadi Party got less than 100 seats, he “alone would be responsible”. In a related development SP MP Akshay Yadav, son of Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, said in Tundla on Monday that without Akhilesh Yadav as the chief ministerial face, the SP would end up with only 20 seats. He said that the entire party was behind Mr Akhilesh Yadav and that the conspiracy of “some people” would not succeed. Samajwadi Party’s state chief Shivpal Yadav had also said on Sunday said he would pitch his nephew Akhilesh Yadav’s name for the chief minister’s post if the party wins the 2017 Assembly elections.