Mulayam holds out olive branch to son, says Akhilesh will be next CM of Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: Mulayam Singh Yadav last night extended an olive branch to his rebellious son Akhilesh, saying he would be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh if Samajwadi Party retains power, even as the two factions escalated their fight in the Election Commission for the symbol 'Cycle'. "Akhilesh will be the next Chief Minister. Our party is completely united. There is no question of the party breaking up," Mulayam said. The surprise statement came on a day when the factional war in the Samajwadi Party escalated with the Akhilesh camp seeking an early decision on the disputed party symbol while the embattled SP patriarch asserted that he is still the party chief. Before the factional dispute reached the Election Commission with the two sides claiming majority support of delegates and elected representatives, Mulayam had refused to anoint Akhilesh as the party's chief ministerial candidate, saying the new MLAs would choose their leader. "We will very soon tour the entire UP to send out a message of unity. All the confusion that was there is ending. Akhilesh will be the next CM," he said. Earlier during the day, Mulayam and his confidantes Amar Singh and Shivpal Yadav met top EC officials to claim majority support in the party. Though the Mulayam camp did not submit any fresh documents, it asserted he is still the SP chief and has legal claim over the party and its symbol. Mulayam also told the Commission that the convention called by Akhilesh Yadav camp on January 1 was "unconstitutional" as Ramgopal Yadav, who had convened the meet, was expelled from the party on December 30, 2016. Mulayam also contested the affidavits of party leaders submitted by the party faction owing allegiance to his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, alleging they were forged and asked the EC to get them verified. Parallelly, Mulayam also urged Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to derecognise his cousin Ramgopal Yadav, an Akhilesh supporter, as leader of the party group following his expulsion from the party on Dec 30. He also urged the Chairman to shift Ramgopal's seat to the back benches following his expulsion. Talking to reporters in Lucknow during the day, Mulayam said there were "no differences" between him and Akhilesh but "one person has influenced his son" which had led to "problems in the party", an apparent reference to Ramgopal. "I will sign Form A and B (relating to party affiliation and party symbol for contesting candidates). Now EC has to decide on the cycle symbol," he said. When asked about Mulayam's remarks that "one person" is behind the feud in SP, Ramgopal refused to say anything.