Mulayam vs Akhilesh: SP family feud worsens, UP CM releases his list of 235 candidates

LUCKNOW: The turf war in Samajwadi Party has worsened ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due early next year, with an unhappy Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today released a list of his 235 candidates. Akhilesh's rebellious move came after he held a meeting with party legislators who have not found place in the list of 325 declared candidates announced by party supremo Mulayam Singh yesterday. Latest developments:

• Shivpal Yadav reaches SP supremo Mulayam Singh's residence.
• Shivpal Yadav to announce list of remaining 78 candidates shortly. Names of 325 candidates were announced by Mulayam Singh, yesterday.
• Prominent among those figuring in the list are ministers Arvind Singh Gope, Pawan Pandey and Ram Govind Chaudhary, who are the hardcore Akhilesh loyalists denied ticket by Mulayam.
• Akhilesh releases a list of his 235 candidates for UP polls which includes 171 sitting MLAs and 64 new faces.
• Akhilesh is likely to release a list of 167 candidates for UP elections.
• UP CM asks his supporters to prepare for elections, says 'you will fight elections'.
• Akhilesh conveyed his objections to his father and SP supremo regarding the list of candidates.

• Hectic political activities began in the morning with party leaders gathering outside the residences of Akhilesh and Mulayam. A big crowd assembled outside Shivpal's residence also.
• Akhilesh, clearly upset over being apparently kept out of the process to select candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls, met at his 5-Kalidas Marg residence here his supporters, including legislators and office bearers who do not figure in the list, party sources said.
• Later, he spoke to Mulayam to convey his displeasure over the list of candidates from which names of his close confidants are missing, the sources said.
• Mulayam, along with his brother and state party chief Shivpal Yadav, yesterday declared candidates for 325 of the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and ruled out projecting Akhilesh as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

• Akhilesh was away on Bundelkhand tour when the list was released at a hurriedly-convened press conference. The Chief Minister and Shivpal have been involved in a power struggle for several months now.
• The list, which includes 176 sitting MLAs, announced by Mulayam and Shivpal in the absence of Akhilesh, has left out several pro-Akhilesh ministers, including Ram Govind Chaudhary, Pawan Pandey and Arvind Singh Gope, and does not carry names of over 50 sitting MLAs.
• Besides, 10 ministers, including Shivpal, sacked by the chief minister over the past few months have got tickets. These former ministers were in open defiance of Akhilesh and it paid off.
• Within hours after release of the list, which clearly bore the stamp of Mulayam and Shivpal, Akhilesh had said he would take up the choice of candidates with the party chief.
• "The list does not include names of certain candidates who are sure to win. I will take it up with the SP chief and tell him that some of them have done really good work and they should be given tickets," an upset Akhilesh had said last night.

In a late night tit-for-tat action, the Chief Minister struck back sacking two Shivpal loyalists -- Surabhi Shukla, vice-chairperson of UP Awas Vikas Parishad and her husband Sandeep Shukla from the post of advisor of Rajkiya Nirman Nigam. Sandeep has been fielded from Sultanpur Sadar seat. (With PTI inputs)