By Mohit Dubey, IANS,
Lucknow : Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders Friday spoke in different voices on the party’s crucial role in the July 19 presidential poll, leaving both the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) guessing as the race to Raisina Hill grew to a feverish pitch in the national capital.
And so while senior party leader, and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s ‘face’ in national politics — his cousin — Ram Gopal Yadav created a stir by saying that former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was not their candidate and that only West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was rooting for him, senior party leader from West Bengal and party general secretary Kiranmoy Nanda spoke differently and said that “all names for the post of presidency were jointly announced by SP and Trinamool” and there was no change in their “joint stand”.
Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, meanwhile, left for Lucknow via Agra where he stayed briefly on a private visit. Sources close to him said the SP boss was “miffed at the noora kushti” (tug of war) in New Delhi and had decided to retire to his Lucknow residence for a while and “coordinate things” from here.
“Neta-ji has been approached by leaders of all parties despite the fact that he has made his choice for presidency clear,” said an aide while informing that Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who earlier met Yadav in Lucknow last week, had also contacted him.
Many leaders close to Mulayam Singh told IANS that while the party was likely to stand by whatever he said, they admitted in private conversations that the names of Marxist veteran Somnath Chaterjee and Kalam had more to do with “MSY’s personal relations with the two and not about their acumen”.
“You know Neta-ji is a man who talks from his heart… We think the names of Dr Kalam and Somnath Da stemmed from this personality trait,” averred an old-time loyalist who did not wish to be named.
In the last 24 hours, a section in the Samajwadi Party has done a volte face on the name of Kalam and said the party should work on a name that was “politically prudent”. This, a senior leader told IANS, essentially meant that the party wanted the leadership to go with a Congress candidate, most likely Pranab Mukherjee.
Ram Gopal Yadav is learnt to be leading the Pranab supporter-camp in the SP, a source informed.
“Ram Gopal-ji has been having deliberations with Neta-ji on this matter and the two are exploring the pros and cons of each choice,” an aide said while pointing out that political expediency was likely to turn the tables, whichever way, in the end.
Some leaders were also stressing on Mulayam Singh to “make the best of it” with the Congress, which finds itself on a sticky wicket after firebrand West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee clearly indicated that her party was in exit mode from the UPA.
Ram Gopal is understood to have harped on “cordial if not sweet” relations with the Congress. “There is no point in souring our relationship with the Congress on Dr Kalam, who himself seems to be in two minds on the presidential poll,” said a senior SP leader.
It is also learnt that before Mulayam Singh left for Uttar Pradesh, Ahmad Patel, political secretary of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, “touched base” with him and tried to “make him see reason” in Pranab Mukherjee’s elevation to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Senior state leaders, including a former Congress Legislature party (CLP) leader, meanwhile admitted that Mulayam Singh’s role was going to be the game-changer in the presidential elections.
Meanwhile, to gauge his mind, Subramanian Swamy is understood to have been authorised to coordinate with Mulayam Singh and try to win him over to the NDA camp, which is not averse to the idea of having the Missile Man A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for a second term as president.
(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at [email protected])