Mulayam asks partymen to sink differences, oust Mayawati

Abhishek Bajpai

Gorakhpur, Feb 10 (PTI) With Uttar Pradesh Assembly pollsa year away, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today asked partyworkers to sink their differences and launch a decisivestruggle to dislodge the "corrupt" Mayawati government.

Concerned over infighting within the party, Yadav saidduring the last Assembly elections, the party lost at abouttwo dozen seats due to internal feud.

"In the last elections there were at least 23 seats onwhich our candidates lost due to our own leaders and workersand they had even admitted the fact later," he said at theinaugural session of the party''s state-level meet here.

Analysing the reasons for SP''s poor performance lasttime, the 71-year-old Samajwadi veteran said people workedagainst the interest of the party as they were denied tickets.

SP, which was in power in UP three times, lost to BSP inthe 2007 Assembly polls getting 97 of the 403 seats.

Yadav recalled that earlier too there were instances whenaspirants did not get tickets. "But still, they worked in theinterest of the party and fought unitedly. This time, however,they ensured the victory of BSP," he said.

As a consequence of SP being not in power, cases havebeen filed against one lakh partymen, he said, cautioning themnot to commit the same mistake this time.

Referring to the recent Panchayat elections, he said anumber of elected members of the party voted in favour of BSPcandidates for monetary considerations.

"I never ever imagined that SP leaders will stoop so lowand get sold," he lamented.

Likening internal squabbles in the party to problems,disputes and fights in every family, he said people stilllived together.

"Ours is a samajwadi parivaar, therefore like a familyget united before the elections," Yadav advised the party rankand file.

He rued that party workers did not respond to a call byhim to launch an effective agitation against the "atrocities"on SP leaders unleashed by the BSP government which, healleged, indulged in corruption, injustice and anarchy.

"When independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias RajaBhaiyya and SP MP Shailendra Kumar were arrested on frivolouscharges, an effective agitation could not be launched despitemy call," he said.

On the arrest of SP MLA Vijay Mishra in connection withthe attack on cabinet minister Nand Gopal Nandi, he said thegovernment would not have dared to arrest him had such anagitation been launched.

"I know that Mishra is innocent and being framed. In factMishra and Nandi are friends, but under pressure of the ChiefMinister, the minister made a false statement," he alleged.