Samajwadi Party rift resurfaces: Mulayam appoints Prajapati national secretary, Akhilesh sends list of 403 candidates to SP supremo

LUCKNOW: The rift in Uttar Pradesh's first family resurfaced on Sunday after Mulayam Singh Yadav appointed controversial state Cabinet minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati as the party's national secretary, even as chief minister Akhilesh Yadav sent a list of 403 candidates for upcoming assembly elections to the SP supremo. Prajapati has been appointed Samajwadi Party's national secretary, a senior party leader said. Prajapati is the Cabinet minister holding the Transport portfolio department in the Akhilesh Yadav government. He was sacked by Akhilesh in September after complaints of corruption in the mining department which was under his charge, but was again inducted a few days later. Prajapati is considered close to Mulayam Singh Yadav. Earlier today, amid reports of a possible alliance with Congress, SP state president Shivpal Yadav said there will be no alliance with any party for upcoming for UP Assembly polls. “Neta ji (Mulayam Singh), being the ‘supreme’ leader of the party, is entitled to take call on any alliance. There rae no such talks going on. Had there been any possibility of a tie-up, the call would have been taken by now,” Shivpal told ABP News. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has been saying that a tie-up between SP and Congress would fetch over 300 of the 403 Assembly seats in the upcoming elections while a section of Congress said it is not averse to a “respectable” seat-sharing formula. “Though samajwadis are going to form majority government in the state, if an alliance takes place, it will win over 300 seats. The final decision in this regard will be taken by SP National president (Mulayam Singh Yadav),” Akhilesh had said.