Mulayam and Akhilesh sound contradictory on govt formation in UP

Etawah: Not hiding his dissent on Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh, perhaps deliberately, the SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav caused another embarrassment to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav saying his party will make government alone while latter asserted it would be of alliance .

The statement comes as a blow to the efforts of SP President Akhilesh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi who have been espousing the cause for an alliance government in Uttar Pradesh.

Mulayam made this comment while talking to media here after casting his vote at his native village Saifai in Jaswantnagar assembly constituency from where his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav is the candidate in third phase polling of UP Assembly polls 2017. His comments may be interpreted as his displeasure towards the alliance which he had manifested in the past also. Choosing the same occasion and venue, Akhilesh was amply clear that the fledgling UP-Cong alliance is on the march towards victory.

The UP CM said the third phase trends are as encouraging as the first two and his alliance would form the government in Uttar Pradesh. He said the alliance has made inroads into the hearts of UP electorate and he was confident of convincing win at the hustings.

Mulayam, accompanied by his wife Sadhna Gupta and younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, also predicted a landslide victory for Shivpal. Interestingly,only a couple of days ago, Akhilesh had made some unsavoury comments on his uncle Shivpal while addressing an election meeting.

According to a senior SP leader, it may go against the spirit of alliance as the UP polls are in the third phase of poling and four more phases are still to follow.

It may be recalled that Mulayam was against this alliance from the very beginning.

Meanwhile, Meem Afzal, the senior Congress leader downplayed Mulayam's statement saying it had already been decided that both the parties would form the government in UP.

Mulayam, however, kept his record straight by reiterating that riding the crest of developmental plank, SP would form the government and Akhilesh would be the Chief Minister again. In reply to a question about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-talked about statement that the state of UP had 'adopted' the latter, the SP patriarch said ''UP has adopted only SP.''