In a move that must have surprised many in the political circuit, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has himself initiated a gambit to pave the way for the return of stormy petrel Amar Singh to the party fold. In fact, the move has surprised many within the SP itself, and is sure to have shocked senior SP leader Azam Khan with whom Singh has had a running feud.
Mulayam Singh has invited Amar Singh to Lucknow on Tuesday for a grand ceremony to mark the opening of a park dedicated to the memory of veteran socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra. However, Singh has said that political motives should not be linked to his trip to Lucknow.
"I have learnt to live in the present. I am not worried about the future anymore," he said in an interview to Zee Media when asked if he was planning to return to SP to secure a Rajya Sabha seat. Singh's Rajya Sabha tenure will end in November. Sources say the idea of his return to SP germinated at the recent FIFA World Cup in Brazil where he met UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Singh himself gave ample indication that he was indeed prepared for a rapprochement with his former boss and mentor as he said: "I had told Janeshwar ji that more than a 'samajwadi' (socialist), I am a 'Mulayamwadi'." He also praised Mulayam's brother and senior UP minister Shivpal Yadav.
Singh was all praise for prime minister Narendra Modi while he heaped reproach at the Congress Party calling it "untrustworthy". He also spoke of his "bitter experience" with Rahul Gandhi who he said was "disconnected" from the people. "Congress never helps political leaders when they go through a bad patch. That's one of the main reasons for the state in which the party finds itself today," he said.
Political watchers say that by inviting Amar Singh to Lucknow, Mulayam, the sly and wily politician that he is, has tried to kill the two proverbial birds with one stone. "The SP is in a mess. It desperately needs a political strategist and mastermind like Amar Singh who has links in all parties at the national level," says senior journalist Pradeep Kapoor. "Singh's entry is also Mulayam's way of cutting Azam Khan to size," he added.
Singh's arch rival, Azam has off and on been creating embarrassing situations for both Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav. On Monday, too, he made the CM wait for three hours but ultimately did not turn up at the Urdu Academy function he (Azam) himself had got organized to honour Urdu litterateurs.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}