oppn parties Samajwadi Family War, Chapter Two

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  • Uttar Pradesh voter rolls show a 2.4-crore discrepancy. A difference of approximately 2.4 crore names has been reported between the state's panchayat and rural Assembly voter lists. The Election Commission has ordered the two sets of rolls to be matched
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  • Maaya Rajeshwaran reaches WTA-level quarter-final. The 17-year-old Indian defeated Poland's Weronika Falkowska 6-4, 6-3, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a quarter-final at a WTA Tour-level singles event
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  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
Stock markets on fire due to US results, Sensex gains 2008 points to reach its highest level in 8 months
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Samajwadi Family War, Chapter Two

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2016-12-29 05:59:35

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
Brace yourself for another round of family war in Samajwadi Party (SP). Mulayam Singh Yadav has announced a list of 325 candidates for the upcoming state elections even as son and chief minister Akhilesh was out of town on tour. He also scotched rumours of an alliance with the Congress and declared that the SP will fight the elections on its own.

The list has sidelined most of Akhilesh loyalists and is filled with people against whom a number of criminal cases are pending. It shows that Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam’s brother with whom Akhilesh had a prolonged public spat just a couple of months back, has managed to convince the party supremo that selection of candidates should not be left to Akhilesh. It is certain that the chief minister is not going to take this lying down.

Essentially, what Mulayam and Shivpal, obviously with help from Amar Singh, have done is to ensure that if, and that is a very big if, SP manages to come back to power, there is no way Akhilesh can become chief minister again. For, as his supporters have not been given tickets, there are not enough numbers for him to swing it his way in a crunch situation. It also ensures that the split that was avoided a few months back looms again on the horizon.

Not only has Shivpal managed to sideline Akhilesh’s supporters, he has even got Mulayam to overrule objections the chief minister had against several candidates as they were tainted. The result is that Akhilesh is staring at a list that has candidates who he does not approve of and it undermines his authority in a big way. This has to be the ultimate showdown within the party.

Upon returning to the state capital, Akhilesh has already called a meeting of ‘disgruntled’ party leaders. Disgruntled here obviously means his own supporters and a counter attack is possible later in the day. No one who has been chief minister for 5 years would allow other party leaders to ensure his ouster through internal machinations resembling a bloodless coup. Maybe Akhilesh does not have the clout or the numbers to outmaneuver his father and uncle, but he has enough numbers to split the party and cause them pain. If matters come to a head that is exactly what can be expected.

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