LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday slammed party president and his son Akhilesh Yadav over alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party even as he raised questions on the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister asked as to why Akhilesh gave "half" the seats to Mayawati's party. The remarks come days after SP patriarch created a stir in Parliament, saying he wished that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power.


Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati had jointly announced the alliance in January, saying the SP and the BSP will contest 38 seats each out of the 80 in Uttar Pradesh. However, in the list released Thursday, the SP will fight only 37 seats and the BSP 38.

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"Now, tell me what is the basis for giving away half the seats. Now we have only half the seats left. Our party was stronger," Mulayam said. "We are strong; our men are weakening the party. What a strong party we had made, and I became the CM and the defence minister as well," he said, suggesting that the SP had seen better days under him.

"The BJP's election preparation is better. It has an edge over us, he told party workers, and suggested that candidates should be announced soon so that they can begin work on the ground.

Addressing party workers at the SP headquarters here, he urged them to approach him if they sought the ticket to contest the parliamentary polls and suggested that he could "change" any decision taken by Akhilesh Singh Yadav.

"How many of you have given applications to me? Nobody. Then how will you get the ticket. Akhilesh will give the ticket, but I can change it," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)