The split in the Samajwadi Party was on Tuesday formalised, with the Akhilesh Yadav camp approaching the Election Commission to assert that the party is "actually" headed by the Chief Minister now and not its founder Mulayam Singh”, who had knocked at the doors of the poll panel on Monday laying claim to the 'cycle' symbol.
Hours after his camp staked claim to the party symbol, Akhilesh drove to his father's residence and was with him for nearly two hours, leading to speculation about patch-up efforts, though the Chief Minister's camp said it was “too late. There is no scope for any settlement. EC will decide who will have SP's cycle”.
Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam's brother who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, also joined them after coming back from Delhi.
Leaders from the Akhilesh faction -- Ram Gopal Yadav, Naresh Agarwal and Kiranmoy Nanda -- met the Election Commissioners on Tuesday morning to stake claim over the Samajwadi Party and its election symbol.
"The real Samajwadi Party belongs to us as 90 percent of the people support us," Ram Gopal, Mulayam's cousin who has sided with Akhilesh in the family feud, told reporters after meeting the Election Commission.
Since the assembly elections to Uttar Pradesh are set to be announced any day now, the Commission has little time to decide the matter. As an interim measure, it is likely to freeze the cycle symbol and ask the two factions to contest on new symbols. It may also give the two sides new names to contest the polls till the time a final decision is taken on the real 'ownership' of the Samajwadi Party and its ‘cycle' symbol.
While Mulayam, who was in Delhi since Monday afternoon, returned to Lucknow, his close confidant Mohd Azam Khan reached the national capital and said he would do what he can to bring about a rapprochement.
"Anything is possible. Who would have thought that their expulsion would be revoked," he told reporters here, referring to Akhilesh and Ram Gopal.
A bitter critic of Mulayam's close aide Amar Singh, Khan has maintained a neutral profile in public during the ongoing feud.
Earlier in the day, Akhilesh, who was anointed by his faction as the SP president on Sunday, reportedly spoke to Mulayam over phone.
EC May Take Up To Four Months To Decide
Before the Election Commission proceeds to adjudicate the matter, it will ask Mulayam and Akhilesh to respond to the claims by the opposite side. The process, EC sources said, may take up to four months before a final order is issued.
EC sources said that while Mulayam had submitted a written application to the poll panel on Monday, late on Tuesday Ram Gopal submitted three sets of applications on behalf of the rival camp.
"The Commission will examine these as per relevant provisions of Election Symbold Order of 1968," the sources said.
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