Mulayam singh yadav faction releases list of 26 Samajwadi Party candidates for Uttarakhand polls

DEHRADUN: Looking forward to make inroads in Uttarakhand, the Mulayam faction of the Samajwadi Party on Sunday released a list of 26 candidates for the 70-seat Uttarakhand assembly, even as the feud in the party’s first family is refusing to die down and a clash over a “cycle” (party symbol) ride continues.
The list bore the signature of Shivpal Yadav, the deposed Uttar Pradesh SP chief, who is also party in charge of Uttarakhand.
According to SP leaders, the party has decided to contest on 50 seats, and the second list will also be out a couple of days. Notably, the SP has never won a seat in the Uttarakhand assembly elections, and is looking forward to open its account in the upcoming polls, that too, at a time when there is a virtual split in the party.
SP state president Satya Narian Sachan said, “The candidates were selected by the state panel constituted by Mulayam Singh Yadav a couple of months back, which were then forwarded to Lucknow for final approval.”
He further said, “The SP will contest on all assembly seats coming under Haridwar and Nainital parliamentary constituencies. In the first list, party has filed five candidates from Dehradun district, including Chakrata, Vikasnagar, Cantt, Dharampur and Rajpur assembly seats. The list has maximum eight candidates for Haridwar.
Talking about the ongoing rift between Mulayam and his son chief minister Akhilesh Yaday, Sachan said, “There is no faction in the party and the SP is one. I have requested Akhilesh Yadav and his wife to campaign for the party in Uttarakhand. Our aim is to enter the state assembly for the first time.”
According to Uttarakhand SP leaders, tickets have been distributed with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “Our ultimate aim is to win a Lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand during the next Lok Sabha elections,” said state SP chief.