Lucknow: In less than 24 hours from now will begin what arguably is the most anticipated event of the year: the polls for the Uttar Pradesh assembly. Of the seven phases that the polls have been divided into, the first, which goes to poll on Saturday, is the biggest. There are 73 seats up for grabs spread over 15 districts.
And thanks to a medley of several other factors – Jat voters’ reported disenchantment with BJP, high percentage of Muslim voters, density of communally-sensitive areas, changing dynamics in the state’s sugar belt, and its perceived weakness in this part of the state - this is also the most crucial phase for the Samajwadi Party.
So it is only natural to expect the party, which has combined forces with the Congress this time in a bid to return to power and prepare ground for 2019 general polls, to put in all its might in campaigning right now.
Yet, the party patriarch has stayed away. Nor, as sources told this reporter, does he have many big road shows and campaigns lined up for the next phases.
This would probably for the first time in his lifetime that Mulayam Singh Yadav has kept away from campaigning for the party, though he is listed among the star campaigners.
As of now, MSY is only scheduled to hold two rallies - one for his brother Shivpal Yadav and the other for his younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav. Interestingly, both these people till recently were staunchly opposed to Akhilesh Yadav, who after a prolonged power struggle managed to wrench away the control of the party from his father and uncle Shivpal.
Senior party leaders say that MSY’s withdrawal from party work may actually have come as a blessing in disguise.
While his dissent over SP’s pact with Congress was initially cited as the reason for his no-show, it has now become apparent that the party candidates themselves are wary of inviting him to canvass for them given his flip-flops on important political issues.
“Till date only two programmes of Mulayam Singh Yadav have been confirmed, one in Jaswantnagar on 11th February for his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav and the second one on 14th February at Lucknow Cantt for his younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav,” said a party source.
A lot of party candidates, who were earlier eager to get dates of Mulayam Singh Yadav for public meeting in their respective constituencies, are now in a tizzy. “Mulayam Singh Ji was not happy with the Samajwadi-Congress alliance, but later he said he would campaign for the coalition. The mixed statements from the SP Patriarch can be a risk that no one would like to take,” said a SP candidate.
Another recent statement by Mulayam Singh Yadav in which he accused his son Akhilesh Yadav of acting against Muslims in the state, has also left many candidates hesitant. “There is a very good equation of Yadav-Muslim votes in favour of the party and that cannot be risked at such a crucial time,” said a senior leader and a close aide of Akhilesh Yadav.
The only big Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party Azam Khan who is contesting polls from Rampur Khas seat is yet to send a formal request to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s office for a public meeting in Rampur. Azam Khan is considered close to MSY and played a crucial role in solving the recent family feud of the Yadav clan.
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