Mulayam says Ramgopal No. 2 in SP, not Akhilesh

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said on Saturday he will control ticket distribution for the upcoming state polls with neither chief minister

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said on Saturday he will control ticket distribution for the upcoming state polls with neither chief minister Akhilesh Yadav nor state president Shivpal Yadav having “full say” in deciding the list of candidates.

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In an exclusive interview to HT, Mulayam played down a feud between his son Akhilesh and brother Shivpal that had threatened to split the party, and asserted that general secretary Ramgopal Yadav was the number two in the party.

The party patriarch’s comments indicated that he has managed work out a compromise formula to defuse the crisis in the party, at least for the time being.

Mulayam, 76, said he had made some changes to the party’s potential list of candidates drawn up by Ramgopal.

“If Akhilesh or Shivpal have any suggestion or opinion, it will be accommodated. Ramgopal is very impartial,” Mulayam said.

Akhilesh had demanded “full say” over ticket distribution after being removed as state president by Mulayam earlier this week.

But Shivpal is also unlikely to hold sway over ticket distribution, an area usually governed by the parliamentary board which has authorised Mulayam to take a final decision.

Earlier in the day, Akhilesh gave back the portfolios of medical education and minor irrigation to Shivpal but retained the all-important public works department.

Mulayam said Akhilesh will campaign for the party as CM and Shivpal as state president. “The party will gain when Shivpal will campaign as state president and Akhilesh as chief minister. It will send a good message. They will work together under my guidance. Neither will defy me.”

Mulayam said his long-time aide and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh had stood by him in his “difficult hours”.

The statement came a day after the CM said, “I will no longer refer to that ‘outsider’ as uncle” — a veiled reference to Singh. The party’s crisis was attributed in part to Akhilesh’s souring ties with Amar Singh.