E-Paper
SP office bearers to help party for 2022 polls, won’t get to contest
LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party, which has begun reconstituting its state unit, might not give tickets to those who hold posts in the district units so that they work
LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party, which has begun reconstituting its state unit, might not give tickets to those who hold posts in the district units so that they work full-time for the organisation.
The move is aimed at mission 2022, when the state’s main opposition party would look to unseat the ruling BJP.
The SP national president, Akhilesh Yadav had dissolved the state unit after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and now has begun recomposing it to make it robust for the next state polls. “The party might introduce a system wherein the district office-bearers will focus on strengthening the party in their district instead of beginning hankering for election tickets themselves. At the same time, those who aspire for tickets should refuse a post,” said a senior party leader.
On November 28, the party’s state president Naresh Uttam announced presidents of 14 district units of the party, including Akhilesh’s home district Etawah and Mainpuri and Lucknow.
After SP’s poor show in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and subsequent collapse of the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, Akhilesh, in a bid to overhaul the party’s state unit, had dissolved the UP outfit but retained state president Naresh Uttam.
“It’s quite common in our party, that when election approach, half of the office-bearers themselves start lobbying for tickets leaving the organisational work behind. It also, many times, lead to factionalism in the organisational structure. So, the party is mulling not to give tickets to any office bearers. This move will be a step in the right earnest for further improving culture in the party and for poll preparations,” a senior leader said.
The Lok Sabha results came in May, the alliance collapsed after a month, and Akhilesh dissolved the state unit in August.
The SP had contested the Lok Sabha polls in a pre-poll alliance with the BSP. Though BSP gained in the partnership by winning ten seats against its zero in 2014 LS polls, Mayawati called off the pact with SP, blaming Akhilesh and his party for the “alliance’s failure.”
The SP could not add any number to its 2014 tally. It had won five in 2014 and five in 2019. Yet, in a way, the party suffered losses as three Yadav family members lost their seats. Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav lost Kannauj, a nephew Dharmendra Yadav lost his Badaun, and another nephew Akshaya Yadav had lost his Firozabad seat.
Just a day after the Lok Sabha results, Akhilesh had sacked the entire panel of leaders appointed as spokespersons for TV channels and had also said that no TV channel should invite any of them for debates.
On August 23, Akhilesh dissolved the state unit of the party. Since then, there had been a vacuum in the state organisational structure. The party contested the 11-seat 2019 UP assembly by-polls with office-bearers missing. Now, the process to reinstall the state unit has begun. Soon the outfit in all 75 districts will be reconstituted.
Now, the party is in a re-energised mode. The recent by-poll gains have boosted the morale of the cadre. People are restive about throwing out the BJP government. And they are now looking up to Akhilesh Ji again for 2022. The elections are away, the party is getting prepared,” said the state spokesperson of the party, Rajendra Chaudhary, refusing to comment anything on party’s proposal about restricting office-bearers from jumping in the poll fray.
Samajwadi Party, in the recent UP assembly by-polls, had not only retained its Rampur seat but also won a constituency each from BJP (Zaidpur) and BSP (Jalalpur).
