Samajwadi Party senior leader Mulayam Singh Yadav told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that he would like to see Narendra Modi become the Prime Minister again, barely a month after his son Akhilesh Yadav tied up with BSP chief Mayawati to fight the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
Standing beside Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Mulayam said: “Main aapka aadar aur sammaan karta hoon ki pradhanmantri ji ne sabko leke chalne ka poora prayas kiya hai (I respect you for Mr Prime Minister has tried to take everyone along).” Then looking towards the BJP MPs, he added: 'Aur main yeh bhi chahta hoon… Pradhanmantriji, aap phir bane Pradhanmantri (I also wish Mr Prime Minister that you become the Prime Minister again).'
On February 11, Mulayam was seen on the dais with Andhra chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu when he was demanding special status for his state. Congress, DMK and Trinamul leaders were on the same platform with him.
Samajwadi Party's Ravidas Mehrotra said he did not know about the context in which Mulayam said that. “But we want a change of government at the Centre.”
When Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was asked at a news conference to comment on Mulayam's stand, he said he 'respects' the Samajwadi leader's opinion but does not agree with him.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi on February 9, Akhilesh said that it had taken him just 25 minutes to bury 25 years of enmity between the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party.
In order to challenge the BJP, the Samajwadi Party also has a pre-poll pact with the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Nishad Party. The alliance “left two seats for the Congress”.
But after Mulayam's utterance in the Lok Sabha on February 13, questions have arisen on whether a replay of 2017 is about to play out.
In January 2017, the Samajwadi Party saw a battle of succession when Akhilesh replaced father Mulayam as the party chief in a show of strength. At an emergency meeting, Akhilesh, along with most of Samajwadi legislators, passed a resolution to dismiss Mulayam as party chief and appointed him as the 'margdarshak', or mentor.
Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Yadav too had a fall out with Akhilesh. In the resolution passed two years ago, Shivpal was sacked as the state party chief.
