On the day he turned 79, SP veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav tells workers that UP always provided the gateway to power in Delhi, says his party should be in the mix.
Lucknow: As he turned 79 Thursday, Samajwadi Party (SP) veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav had a message for the warring factions of the party.
“I have formed SP governments four times and twice in Delhi, but some leaders have separated through divisiveness and discrimination,” he told supporters who thronged the SP’s Lucknow office for his birthday celebrations.
“Now, unite and go with the resolve that the government in Delhi will be in your hands. The UP government is anyway going to come to you.”
Mulayam’s comments come amid months of turmoil in the SP, which has seen his brother Shivpal Yadav lead a splinter group and eventually form the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia).
Mulayam, however, only briefly addressed the internal rebellion, instead devoting much of his nearly 30-minute address to stress that the party and its workers should strive to ensure that “a government in Delhi cannot be formed without the SP”.
“Resolve to not just form the next government in UP, but also to create such a situation in Delhi that without the SP, the government will not be formed,” the former UP chief minister told his party workers.
He also said that UP had always had a stake in power at the Centre.
“Humesha UP ne hi netritva kiya hai. Dilli ki sarkar tabhi banegi yadi UP ekatrit hoke kisi ko samarthan karega, sahyog karega. UP ke sahyog ke bina koi Dilli mein bhi sarkar nahi bana sakta hai. (UP has always provided the leadership. The government in Delhi will only be formed if UP gets together to support somebody. Without UP’s support, no one can form a government even in Delhi),” Mulayam said at the beginning of his address.
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‘Party of the young now’
Mulayam also focussed on the party now being in the control of the “youth”.
“The party has come in the hands of the youth. The biggest achievement today is that there are a large number of youth, they are educated and they know how to speak,” he said. “This is what we always wanted. We do not want an old party, we want a young party. Now, connect others to the party and to women.”
Even as he admonished young supporters who interrupted his speech with their requests for blessings and slogans such as Akhilesh bhaiya zindabad, Mulayam urged them to follow the founding principles of the party, suggesting that they read the speeches of “stalwarts such as Ram Manohar Lohia”.
“The best system in the world is samajwad (socialism) where there is no discrimination…Such an ideology does not exist in any party across the world except the Samajwadi Party,” he said. “That is why it is my appeal that you strengthen SP and end discrimination, do not disrespect anyone.”
In stark contrast, however, a parallel celebration was organised around a kilometre away — at the office of Shivpal Yadav’s PSP-L — where the running theme was that of senior leaders being side-lined. Much of the talk revolved around young and “inexperienced” men being at the helm of affairs in the SP.
Even though senior leaders of the new party addressed a gathering and cut a cake to mark Mulayam’s birthday at their new office decked up in party colours and images of Mulayam Singh on hoardings and flags, Shivpal was in the Yadav family’s home district Etawah where a wrestling match or dangal had been organised for the occasion.
Also read: Chacha Shivpal’s exit can only increase the Samajwadi Party’s votes
It was generous of Netaji to allow his son Akhilesh to become CM in 2012. As Akhileshji showed towards the close of his term, when he was allowed a little more autonomy, he has a fine development vision for the state and is not supportive of the rough and tough elements of the SP, who contributed to poor law and order. MSY will be 80 next year when the next government is formed in Delhi. Realistically, there is as little chance of his becoming PM as there is of Deve Gowda. However, he should throw his weight behind his son and ensure that an SP – BSP alliance is formed.