A day after Mulayam Singh Yadav announced candidates’ list for UP polls, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday spoke to the SP supremo to convey his displeasure over the choice of names.
The feud in the Samajwadi Party was again in the open as Mulayam Singh Yadav declared candidates for 325 of the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh ignoring objections of his son and UP CM Akhilesh Yadav.
A clearly upset Akhilesh met his supporters at his 5-Kalidas Marg residence here and later spoke to his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh to convey his displeasure over the list of candidates from which names of his close confidants were missing, party sources said.
As per reports, Akhilesh to announce his own list of 167 candidates.
Sources added that candidates declared by Akhilesh are likely to contest on different symbols as independent candidates.
Party sources said the Chief Minister, before meeting Mulayam, met legislators and office bearers who do not figure in the list of nominees.
The list, which includes 176 sitting MLAs, announced by Mulayam and Shivpal in the absence of Akhilesh, has left out several pro-Akhilesh ministers, including Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope, and does not carry names of over 50 sitting MLAs.
Besides, 10 ministers, including Shivpal, sacked by the chief minister over the past few months have got tickets. These former ministers were in open defiance of Akhilesh and it paid off.
Within hours after release of the list, which clearly bore the stamp of Mulayam and Shivpal, Akhilesh who was away in Bundelkhand on Wednesday, had said he would take up the choice of candidates with the party chief.
“The list does not include names of certain candidates who are sure to win. I will take it up with the SP chief and tell him that some of them have done really good work and they should be given tickets,” an upset Akhilesh had said last night.
