New Delhi: Akhilesh Yadav will directly lead the talks for a Mahagatbandhan between Samajwadi Party, Congress and the RLD for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and is likely to accommodate a few old loyalists of his estranged father Mulayam Singh Yadav, sources told CNN-News18.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Tuesday met Mulayam, a day after he scored a political coup by snatching the party poll symbol Cycle from the “official” faction led by his father. Sources told News18 that while Akhilesh reaching out to his father will send a strong message to voters that he would not be alienating the party old guard, he has made it clear to Mulayam that he will be handling the entire election campaign without any interference from anyone.
Sources said that Shivpal Yadav – who led a bitter faction fight against Akhilesh – may not be contesting in the assembly polls slated to begin on February 4. According to the compromise reached, Akhilesh will accommodate Shivpal’s son Aditya Yadav in the final SP list.
Akhilesh, sources said, has also asked Mulayam not to go to court against the Election Commission order on Monday allotting the party symbol to the faction led by Ram Gopal Yadav and himself. He has also made it clear that Shivpal will not have any say in election management.
Around 25 candidates who are close to Mulayam will be accommodated in the SP list.
CNN NEWS 18 has learnt that the SP-Congress-RLD alliance will be announced soon and SP will retain the lion’s share of 270-280 seats out of the 403 total seats in the state assembly. Congress is expected to get 80-90 seats, which could rise to 100 too depending on alliance talks with Ajit Singh’s RLD.
Sources privy to the talks said SP has conveyed to the RLD and Congress leadership that it would be difficult to give more than 23 seats to RLD, whose area of influence is limited to the Jat belt of Western UP.
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