Akhilesh rides away with SP's bicycle, EC rejects Mulayam's claims

Poll alliance with Congress may be announced soon

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav won the war for the Samajwadi Party’s poll symbol, the bicycle after the Election Commission settled the dispute in his favour, rejecting the claims of party patriarch Mulayam Singh.

Akhilesh’s emergence as party boss could pave the way for an alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in UP. The announcement of a pact might come in a day or two, sources said.

Uttar Pradesh will see seven-phased polls for 403 Assembly seats from February 11 to March 8. Results will be out on March 11. The EC’s decision came a day before notification for phase-I. The poll panel had reserved its order after hearing the lawyers of both sides on January 13.

Mulayam did not present any proof to the poll panel backing his claim to use the bicycle as his party symbol. The Akhilesh faction submitted proof claiming support of 205 of the 228 members of the legislative assembly, 56 of the 68 members of the legislative council, 15 of the 24 parliamentarians, 28 of the 46 national executive members and 4,400 of the 5,731 delegates. This evidence clinched the dispute over the poll symbol in Akhilesh’s favour, said the EC.

After winning the dispute, the chief minister walked over from his house in Lucknow to see his father, who lives next door.

Mulayam had said earlier in the day he would “abide” by the Election Commission’s verdict and was ready to fight the faction led by his son.

The Congress congratulated the UP chief minister.

AICC spokesperson R P N Singh told this newspaper: “Akhilesh represents the true SP as 90 per cent of the lawmakers and party workers were with him. We thank the EC.”

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is more inclined towards Akhilesh, who has publicly said their combination could win more than 300 of the 403 Assembly seats. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) General Secretary Tariq Anwar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad also favoured the alliance in UP, on the lines of the one made in Bihar in 2015.

Backing Akhilesh, Anwar said the “good image” of the UP chief minister would will greatly help the alliance. “If we stop the communal forces in a state like Uttar Pradesh, then it will send a strong message across the country.”

Lalu Prasad said he would speak with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi before entering into a pact with Akhilesh.

The dispute in the SP arose on January 1 when party leader Ram Gopal Yadav named Akhilesh as president of the SP at a national convention. Mulayam was made an advisor, and his brother Shivpal Yadav was removed as the UP unit chief. Controversial Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh was expelled. Earlier, Mulayam had expelled both Ram Gopal and Akhilesh but had taken them back into the party the next day.

Mulayam later told the EC that the convention was illegal, and asserted himself as the party boss.

NCP has only one MLA, Fateh Bahadur, in the 403-member UP Assembly. In 2015, the NCP had walked out of the grand alliance in Bihar after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad had “unilaterally” announced seat-sharing among the constituents of the grand alliance without consulting the NCP.