Shivpal Yadav to Formally Plunge Into Battle 2019, Approaches EC With Party Name and Symbol

Lucknow: Former Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav is set to embark on 2019 electoral blitzkrieg. After the rigorous social media push and kicking off the process for core committee selection, the estranged SP leader is learnt to have approached the Election Commission to register his party name and symbol.

According to sources, his political outfit will be called 'Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party', however, the official announcement will be made once they get clearance from the EC. Yadav had formed a breakaway faction, 'Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM)' after a long-standing rift between the leader and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.

Sources close to Shivpal Yadav said that the estranged Samajwadi Party leader had applied for registration of a separate political outfit in 2017 but did not follow it up then as he had hopes of a possible family truce. However, after the formal announcement of the split, Yadav is gearing up to take on his political rivals in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He had already announced that his political outfit will be contesting on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

With Mulayam Singh Yadav sharing the stage with his son, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and appealing party workers to make the latter win 2019 elections, the hope of family truce has dwindled further. Earlier, the younger brother had also offered ticket to Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but MSY didn’t seem to have been moved by the act.

Mulayam Singh’s attendance was considered a big setback to Shivpal who was still harbouring hopes that Mulayam would side with him in this family feud. On Saturday, a day before the rally, he had said his front would oppose everyone in the family, except netaji (Mulayam).

While speaking to News18, few days back, Shivpal Yadav had said, “The time for patch-up or any understanding with SP leadership has gone; I have waited for two good years before taking this decision. Barring netaji, the Samajwadi Secular Morcha will not support any candidate even if he/she is from our family. We are busy expanding our base and more people and leaders are willing to join us in our Secular Morcha. Our new political party will play a significant role in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We will play a prominent role in strengthening the secular block against the BJP.”