Blow to Mulayam Singh as SP bank accounts frozen

Lucknow: In a fresh development that is bound to deepen the ongoing crisis in the Samajwadi Party, the bank accounts of the Samajwadi Party (SP) have been frozen, reportedly on the request of a senior leader of the Akhilesh Yadav faction.

The Samajvadi Party (SP) has around Rs 500 crore in its Delhi, Etawah and Lucknow bank accounts and money can’t be withdrawn without the consent of the party national president.Party sources said that the party has accounts in Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, State Bank of India, Vijaya Bank and UP Cooperative Bank in Lucknow, State Bank of India, Delhi, and Bank of Baroda in Etawah.

The party has over Rs 350 crore in fixed deposits, its accounts in SBI and BOB in Lucknow have around Rs 23 crore and Rs 19 crore, respectively. Though there was no confirmation or denial on the accounts being frozen by the Akhilesh faction, a bank official, on condition of anonymity, admitted that they had been “asked not to allow transactions in view of the leadership dispute”.

Both the factions led by Akhilesh Yadav and  his father Mulayam Singh Yadav will require funds for the upcoming elections and the one that controls the funds will have a definite advantage over the party.