Modi free to contest from UP, says Mulayam
Lucknow, July 10: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav Wednesday said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was free to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from anywhere in Uttar Pradesh.
Replying
to
questions
on
speculation
that
Modi
would
contest
from
Lucknow
or
Varanasi,
Yadav
said:
"He
is
free
to
contest
from
anywhere
in
the
state
though
he
is
unwelcome
as
the
people
of
Uttar
Pradesh
are
peace-loving
and
would
not
like
to
be
divided
on
communal
lines."
Yadav has been critical of Modi, calling him a "media creation" and one who was divisive in his politics. Yadav had recently slammed a section of the media for giving undue publicity to Modi. He had said that the media ignored development in other states.
BJP leaders say that Yadav is rattled at the prospects of the "Modi juggernaut" rolling into Uttar Pradesh as it would imperil Yadav's Muslim vote bank, which would then be divided between the SP and the Congress. With a history of tactical voting by Muslims in the state, even SP leaders are not ruling this out.
Yadav's SP has 22 MPs and the party is working to increase the number. Yadav has repeatedly expressed his ambition to become prime minister.
IANS