I am still Samajwadi president: Mulayam Singh Yadav

Shivpal Yadav Amar Singh and Mulayam u00c2u0088Singh Yadav at a press conference yesterday PicPTINew Delhi Questioning the legality of the convention which ousted him as president and appointed his son Akhilesh in his place Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday asserted he was still the party chiefHe claimed the special national convention called by his cousin Ramgopal Yadav on January 1 in Lucknow was ldquoillegalrdquo as he as party president had already expelled him from the party on December 30ldquoI am the national president of Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav is only the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shivpal Yadav is still the president of Samajwadi Partys Uttar Pradesh unitrdquo Mulayam who is locked in a bitter feud with AkhileshRamgopal camp for control over the party told reporters here ldquoRamgopal Yadav was expelled from the party for six years on 30 December 2016 Therefore the partys national convention called by him on 1 January 2017 was illegal he assertedSP symbol may be frozen The cycle the symbol of Samajwadi Party faces the threat of being frozen before the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls if the Election Commission is not able to decide which of the two factions of the party commands majority in the organisationAfter the split in the party last week the factions led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh had approached the Commission staking claim over the party and the symbolBoth sides had also submitted some documents to further their claim and the Commission has given them time till Monday to provide signed affidavits of legislators and office bearers to claim control over the partys name and symbol Today is the deadline set by EC for both sides to submit documents before it decides which faction has genuine claim The side which has the support of majority 50 per cent plus 1 MPs MLAs MLCs and delegates will gain the upper hand in the fight to control the party founded 25 years agoThe EC sources said will have to decide on who commands the majority in SP before January 17 when the notification for the first phase of assembly polls is issued The election for phase one is on February 2BSP announces final candidates listBSP yesterday announced candidates for 101 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh completing the exercise for all but two of the 403 constituencies fielding 12 more Muslim candidates this time to ensure DalitMuslim consolidation in a bid to wrest power from Samajwadi PartyCandidates for the two remaining seats in Sonebhadra district will be finalised after a decision is taken as to whether they are general or reserved for ST BSP said in a releaseOut of the 403 seats up for grabs BSP had prepared a final list comprising 97 Muslim candidates 12 more than 2012 87 Dalits and 106 OBCs besides earmarking 113 seats for upper castes Since Muslims account for nearly 20 per cent of the voters Mayawati decided to field more candidates of that community playing her DalitMuslim consolidation card to come back to power