NEW DELHI: Abject defeat and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav seems to be turning back to old friend Amar Singh who had ruled the Samajwadi roost for several years till 2010, speaking and negotiating on behalf of Yadav.
Singh and Yadav were seen together at a public function a couple of weeks ago leading to speculation of a rapprochement. However, this was denied by Samajwadi leader and the chief’s brother Ram Gopal Yadav saying there was no question of Singh returning to the party.
However, Singh’s second meeting with Yadav at his residence this time seems to fly in the face of the denials. Amar Singh told reporters that he was not trying to hide a political rapprochement simply because there was not one. “ I have not committed a theft, these are family relations, not political or practical ones,” he said.
Amar Singh was thrown out of the party along with Jaya Prada “for anti party activities”. He went on to form his organisation and has been setting up candidates in Uttar Pradesh in the elections to defeat Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, this party failed to take off with Singh’s candidates not even recognised as being in the fight by the electorate at the end of the day.
His Rajya Sabha term is coming to an end, and this is being seen by SP leaders as the reason for his reaching out to Mulayam Singh Yadav. He had contested the recent Lok Sabha elections on a Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket from the Fatehpur Sikri constituency in UP but lost,
The SP chief was extremely close to Amar Singh, leaving most of the decision making to him. Singh was active on behalf of the party in Delhi, and would often speak for Yadav who was rarely seen at that time. Senior party leaders were extremely critical of Singh’s influence on the Samajwadi president and told this correspondent at the time that he was responsible for the continuing decline of the party. His influence on Yadav had always been an issue of speculation and wonder in the party.
The Samajwadi’s excellent performance in the last Assembly elections that brought it in government was attributed by these leaders, including Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brothers, as linked to Amar Singh’s existence in the party. Yadav started paying more attention to the organisation, and this along with Akhilesh Yadav’s hectic campaigning was seen as the reason for the victory.
However, the Lok Sabha debacle where the Samajwadi party was returned to Parliament with just a handful of members and that too only relatives of Mulayam Singh Yadav is probably the reason why he is again entertaining Amar Singh. Interestingly, Ram Gopal Yadav, Shivpal Yadav skipped the first public function where Singh was present, as did Azam Khan who is also opposed to his return.