Even at the central parliamentary board meeting where the names were finalised on Tuesday, SP leading lights Azam Khan and Ramgopal Yadav are reported to have raised strong objections to the Thakur leader's nomination.
Amar Singh is back in business once again. The stormy petrel, whom the Samajwadi Party (SP) had expelled in 2010, has bounced back with a Rajya Sabha nomination from the very same party.
Singh's inclusion in the list of seven nominees for the upper house by SP has come as a big surprise for political watchers as some top party leaders were opposing his return tooth and nail.
Even at the central parliamentary board meeting where the names were finalised on Tuesday, SP leading lights Azam Khan and Ramgopal Yadav are reported to have raised strong objections to the Thakur leader's nomination.
Even Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is reported to be opposed to Singh's return.
But, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav just brushed aside all opposition and went ahead to lend a helping hand to an old friend who has been down in the doldrums for quite a while.
"Neta ji (Mulayam) is a friend of friends, and is known for holding on to long-term relationships," says senior journalist Pradeep Kapoor to explain how Singh is suddenly in the reckoning.
SP general secretary Shivpal Yadav, who announced the names at a news conference, was at pains to explain that the list of nominees had been cleared unanimously. "Were you at the parliamentary board meeting? I was there and I am telling you there was no disagreement over any name. Do you want an affidavit?" he retorted to a question about the reported differences within the party.
Those who know Amar Singh well credit him with an uncanny ability to bounce back just when he has been written off. With his connect across party lines, he would be an asset to any political outfit within and outside Parliament, say political pundits.
Another name, which sent a murmur through party circles, is that of former union minister Beni Prasad Verma who re-joined the SP only last week. An old SP hand and a strong Kurmi backward leader, he had drifted to the Congress after differences with Mulayam. As steel minister in UPA-II, he had often railed at Mulayam even saying that the SP chief was plotting to get him eliminated.
Mulayam is learnt to have got him back to counter the threat from another prominent Kurmi leader, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, in view of the 2017 UP Assembly election.
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