Akhilesh Yadav to be the Chief Minister Candidate for UP

Family feuds aside, Akhilesh Yadav will be seen leading the candidature for the position of Chief Minister for the state of Uttar Pradesh. After a prolonged tiff with his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, ever since he assumed the position, Akhilesh finally seemed to break bonds when he released his own list of candidates for the upcoming elections in U.P. After a dispute that was discussed and covered by the media, Akhilesh and Mulayam are back together, with the former contesting in the elections.

“After elections, the next chief minister will be Akhilesh Yadav. We are making all efforts for party’s unity and the party is united. There is no question of the party splitting,” Mulayam said in Lucknow on Monday Evening. As ever in the Indian society, the friction is supposedly caused by the relatives of the politically powerful father-son duo. While Akhilesh counts on his father’s cousin Ram Gopal Yadav in his team, Mulayam’s younger brother Shivpal Yadav and MP of Rajyasabha Amar Singh back Mulayam Singh. The continuance of the groups within the party has raised the eyebrows of many a person, especially with the elections on track in less than a month.

The sticky situation comes in as Akhilesh wants Amar Singh to be ousted from the party and a greater say in the allotment of the party tickets whereas Mulayam Singh wants the same treatment to Ram Gopal. With both the father and son not compromising from their respective stands, it seemed that Samajwadi Party might be in serious danger. But the statement by Mulayam either shows a collaboration of sorts or a bigger strategy. Either way, one thing that Akhilesh has made clear is that he is not willing to step down for the position of the President of Samajwadi Party until after the elections as he doesn’t rely on the effectiveness of the flanks of his father – Shivpal and Amar.

Earlier in the day, the two factions made competing claims in front of the elections commission for the party symbol – a bicycle. But if the tandem isn’t repaired soon, the cycle will not be able to proceed forward with its two wheels competing to move in opposite directions.