Split wide open in SP: After Mulayam, Akhilesh Yadav releases parallel list of 235 candidates

NEW DELHI: A day after Mulayam Singh Yadav released the Samajwadi Party list of 325 candidates, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav made public his parallel list of 235 candidates for UP polls.

The list of names was made available on social media by party MLAs who failed to get a ticket in the official list yesterday.

Akhilesh supporters who had been denied party ticket thronged his house on Thursday seeking his blessings to contest against official candidates. But, before announcing his list late evening, CM Akhilesh met his father and SP chief Mulayam to share his problem in the wake of denial of tickets to his supporters. Sources said Akhilesh told his father that some selected candidates are in no position to win.


“Both Mulayam and Akhilesh sat for about an hour. Then, Mulayam called his brother and SP state unit chief Shivpal Yadav to seek a solution for the Akhilesh’s grievances. However, Mulayam snubbed Akhilesh by vaguely promising him to look into his problem but gave no final word.

Reports reaching here from Lucknow said CM Akhilesh had called a few ministers home on Wednesday. He was perhaps aware about the possible disappointment in his camp after his failure to ensure tickets for his supporters. Around 11 am, Akhilesh’s supporters, including sitting MLAs who failed to get ticket, started reaching Akhilesh’s residence. They were asked to sit in a hall while Akhilesh went to meet his father. Later, Akhilesh gave a patient hearing to his supporters and asked them to wait and watch.

After their meeting with Akhilesh, SP leaders dropped hints that they were planning to contest against the party line. Pawan Pandey, a minister, claimed that he would contest from Ayodhya in the name of Akhilesh Yadav.