In UP, Cong MLAs openly cosy up to Akhilesh, Mulayam

Muslim had been handpicked by Priyanka Vadra to contest the 2012 assembly election. Speaking to The Indian Express, the MLA was candid in his praise for the SP.

“The way things are happening in Uttar Pradesh, including the so-called ‘ghar wapasi’ programmes, it is my belief that only a leader like Mulayam Singh Yadav can stop the communal forces, which I have said publicly. Communal politics of BJP can only be stopped by joint efforts of the Congress and Samajwadi Party,” he said.

Muslim said he had referred to Akhilesh as a “ray of hope” because “he is a young chief minister, and we have a lot of hope from him.”

On December 8, the first time Congress MLA from Rampur Khas in Pratapgarh, Aradhana Mishra, was seen at a government function at the chief minister’s residence in Lucknow. Much to the envy of SP MLAs, she was given the privilege of sharing the dais with the chief minister and his wife Dimple, the SP MP from Kannauj.

Asked about her presence, Mishra said, “It was not a political or a personal programme. It was a government function, where I was officially invited as an MLA because my father, who was the MLA from the seat, had long pushed for a power substation in Lalganj, which was inaugurated on that day.”

She pointed out that “at another programme at the chief minister’s residence, Jayant Chaudhary, the son of Ajit Singh, was present.”

Aradhana is the daughter of Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha with support from the Samajwadi Party.

The Congress has been facing similar problems with its two MLAs from the Terai region, Madhuri Verma (Nanpara in Bahraich) and Kaushal Kishore Singh (Nautanwa in Maharajganj district).

Verma, who had joined the Congress along with her husband Dileep Verma before the 2012 assembly election, has not participated in any Congress function after the Lok Sabha elections.

“We have stopped calling her because she is a Congress MLA only in name. Dileep Verma joined the SP during the Lok Sabha elections, and we have not seen her since the elections. We consider her part of the SP family now,” Chandra Shekhar, Bahraich district Congress president, said.

Before joing the Congress, Dileep Verma had been with the BSP.

In Maharajganj, Congress MLA Kaushal Kishore Singh “Munna” is seen with his brother Akhilesh Singh, who had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from the seat.

Sources in the district said Munna had managed his brother’s campaign, and had even attended the post election meeting organised by the SP. “We do not consider him to be part of the Congress, but we are small fry. What can we do if the senior leadership allows this?” a mid-level Congress leader in Maharajganj said.

About a month ago, the Congress MLA from Banda, Vivek Singh, advised his party to either revamp its organistion or merge with the SP.

Asked about his party MLAs cosying up to the SP, AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry said, “I have got some reports. Once elected, MLAs feel that they are free to do whatever they want, and are not responsible to anyone. This needs to be rectified. I will visit Uttar Pradesh on December 28 and look into the issue.”