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Legislative Council polls: Cracks in SP alliance over nominees: Mahan Dal calls it quit, SBSP ‘disappointed’

Mahan Dal, which was formed in 2008, has a presence among the Other Backward Castes such as Shakyas, Sainis, Mauryas and Kushwahas in parts of west and east UP.

The four candidates of the Samajwadi Party filed their nominations in Lucknow in presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. (File)The four candidates of the Samajwadi Party filed their nominations in Lucknow in presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. (File)

As Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lined up his party’s four candidates for the upcoming Legislative Council elections in Lucknow on Wednesday, cracks emerged in the rainbow coalition stitched by him in the run-up to the Assembly elections earlier this year.

While Mahan Dal, led by Keshav Dev Maurya, announced that his party was leaving the alliance, an SBSP spokesperson said that he was “disappointed” with the SP for ignoring alliance partners for the Council polls.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Mahan Dal chief said: “I was seeking an MLC ticket, but was denied. Before the Assembly polls, I had told Akhilesh that he can allot me any number of seats, but once our government is formed, I would like to have my share. If we had formed the government, then I would have sought a ministry. Since we could not get a majority, I should have been nominated for the Legislative Council.”

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Mahan Dal, which was formed in 2008, has a presence among the Other Backward Castes such as Shakyas, Sainis, Mauryas and Kushwahas in parts of west and east UP. Maurya’s son Chandra Prakash Maurya and Suman Shakya had contested from Bilsi (Badaun) and Farrukhabad seats in the Assembly polls on the SP symbol, but both lost to BJP.

“After we had formed the alliance, I could sense that the SP doesn’t need us. I was not given the respect I deserved,” said Maurya, accusing Akhilesh of trying to weaken his party. “I met Akhilesh Yadav on April 6 and spoke about preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. I told him that our party should be assigned a seat in advance so that we could prepare. He agreed to the Farrukhabad seat. But later, he made a leader from my community in charge of the seat. This meant that he was creating a divide,” he added.

Festive offer

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) also termed the list of candidates fielded by alliance partner SP “disappointing”.

“Akhilesh Yadav’s decision is disappointing for our party workers,” SBSP spokesperson Piyush Mishra tweeted.

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When asked about Mishra’s tweet, SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar said that he is the party’s national spokesperson and his words are important. “The truth has to be accepted,” he said.

Rajbhar, however, made it clear that he is with the SP-led alliance and will extend full support to make the candidates in the Council polls and Lok Sabha bypolls.

SP national spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary, however, said, “There may be some differences, but the final goal of Mahan Dal and SP is the same. Our struggle will continue.”

When asked if the SP leadership will reach out to the Mahan Dal, he said, “That is later. We will see.”

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Meanwhile, the four candidates of the Samajwadi Party filed their nominations in Lucknow in presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

With each candidate required to get the votes of at least 29 MLAs to get elected to the Upper House, the SP can get its four candidates elected.

The SP has fielded former BJP minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who had switched to the SP in the run-up to the Assembly elections earlier this year. Maurya had contested the Assembly election from Fazilnagar in Kushinagar district but lost.

The SP’s second candidate is Mukul Yadav, who is the son of three-time MLA from Karhal in Mainpuri Sobaran Singh Yadav. Sobaran had vacated Karhal Assembly seat in the recent polls for Akhilesh to contest from there.

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The other two SP candidates are Shahnavaz Khan and Jasmir Ansari.

Shahnavaz Khan is the son of Saharanpur SP leader Sarfaraz Khan, who is considered close to Azam Khan.

Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam Khan was also among those who were present during the filing of nominations.

Ansari, a two-time former BSP MLA, had joined the SP ahead of Assembly polls from the Congress. He had joined Congress in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls after leaving BSP.

First uploaded on: 09-06-2022 at 01:46 IST
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