Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Tuesday, attempted to play down the tussle with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav over control of the party.
A day after the Election Commission (EC) recognised the faction headed by him as the Samajwadi Party and allotted the reserved symbol 'Bicycle' to it for contesting the coming Assembly elections, Akhilesh said that he never had differences with his father and no can break the bond between them.
“Relation with my father can never be broken, I never had differences with him, infact 90% candidates in our lists are same,” Yadav said. He was referring to the tussle between the two sides on the selection of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections.
Akhilesh had countered a list prepared by Mulayam and his uncle Shivpal by coming out with his own list of candidates. The episode had further precipitated the tension in the party leading to the anointment of Akhilesh as the president of the Samajwadi party in place of Mulayam.
“This is a big responsibility, now our full focus will be on forming government again,” he added.
On the possibility of SP tying up with the Congress, he said, “Please wait for some time.”
Yesterday, as soon as he got the news of EC deciding in his favour, Akhilesh went to meet his father to seek his blessings.
Interestingly, Mulayam Singh Yadav, prior to the EC announcement, had hit out at his son Akhilesh Yadav, stating that he would fight against the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister if he does not listen to him.
“I called Akhilesh 3 times, but he met me for just a minute and left even before I could begin speaking,” Mulayam said.
Playing the religion card, Mulayam also claimed that Akhilesh does not have a single Muslim name in his list of candidates for the UP elections. He said he was worried his son was being seen as a "Muslim baiter."
Speaking to party workers, Mulayam said he was trying his best to save the party.
