SP on brink of split, Akhilesh may release parallel list

LUCKNOW: Ruling Samajwadi Party today appeared to be headed for a vertical split, with some pro- Akhilesh Yadav MLAs saying the unhappy Chief Minister was likely to release a parallel list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Sources in the disgruntled camp said Akhilesh had even prepared a list of 167 candidates to be pitted against SP’s official nominees.

Unhappy with the list released by his father and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday, the Chief Minister held a meeting with his loyalists, including MLAs, who have been denied tickets. Afterwards, SP MLA Indal Singh said, “Akhilesh is likely to announce his own list of candidates.”

These candidates were likely to contest on a separate symbol, other than SP’s ‘Cycle’ symbol, paving the way for a wide split in the party grappling with dissensions and unprecedented feud at a time when the crucial polls were knocking at the door.

Today’s showdown, the worst in the last few months, reached a flashpoint after Mulayam publicly snubbed his son by announcing a list of candidates that created bitterness in the pro-CM camp, prompting the upset chief minister to take up the matter with the SP supremo to convey his strong displeasure over the choice of names.

“The Chief Minister called us. He instructed us to go to our respective constituencies and prepare for the elections,” Indal Singh, SP MLAs from Malihabad, said after Akhilesh today met legislators denied ticket. (AGENCIES)

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