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SP boss tells party to prepare for early polls
Though the Samajwadi Party extends outside support to the UPA government at the Centre, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday asked his leaders to be ready for Lok Sabha elections anytime in 2013 - a year before it is due.
Though the Samajwadi Party extends outside support to the UPA government at the Centre, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday asked his leaders to be ready for Lok Sabha elections anytime in 2013 - a year before it is due.
The SP chief also gave party leaders a target of 50 Lok Sabha seats, said a source privy to the discussions at a closed-door meeting at the SP headquarters.
At present, the SP has 22 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and an improved tally in accordance with the target could give it a crucial role in government formation after the general elections.
The closed-door meeting also saw the SP chief appoint 58 observers for the parliamentary elections. He said the party would announce candidates early, as it had for the assembly polls, because it would give them a head start.
After the meeting, SP general secretary Ramasrey Khushwaha said the party had “decided in principle” not to field sitting MLAs in the Lok Sabha polls.
The SP has already received more than 900 applications from Lok Sabha ticket aspirants, said a source in the party.
The SP meeting comes when UP’s demand for central funding has been more than accepted.
