Son still rising: UP CM Akhilesh leads popularity vote over father Mulayam by huge margin

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has surpassed his father Mulayam Singh Yadav in terms of popularity among the masses. 

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Akhilesh Yadav (Left) Mulayam Singh Yadav (Right)
Akhilesh Yadav (Left) Mulayam Singh Yadav (Right)

In Short

  • Akhilesh outmatches father Mulayam by a considerable margin in popularity.
  • 70.3 percent of the people want Akhilesh to lead the party as well as the state.
  • 24.2 pc claimed that family feud was a farce to gain sympathy votes for Akhilesh.

The ongoing tussle between Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is bringing out interesting political equations.

A survey conducted on 403 assembly seats of the state has indicated that Akhilesh outmatches his father Mulayam by a considerable margin in terms of popularity among the masses.

The survey conducted by an NGO Sea Voter indicates that Akhilesh is vastly more popular in the state compared to his father Mulayam or uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

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Sources from SP indicate that this survey has established that the masses in the state, as well as the party workers, are now demanding that Mulayam finally handover the reins of the party to Akhilesh.

SURVEY CONDUCTED ON 11 THOUSAND PEOPLE ACROSS 403 ASSEMBLY SEATS

The survey, which was conducted among 11 thousand people across 403 assembly seats clearly shows that Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal is the least favourite of the people among the three choices - Akhilesh, Mulayam and Shivpal.

The sample survey indicates that 70.3 per cent of the people want Akhilesh to lead the party as well as the state as Chief Minister, while only 26.1 per cent people favoured his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Also read: Uttar Pradesh's Game of Thrones: SWOT analysis of each neta

Amongst the Muslims too, 75.6 per cent people favoured Akhilesh while 19.4 per cent claimed Mulayam was their choice. Similar is the state of other castes and communities, where Akhilesh leads by a large margin over his father.

UNCLE SHIVPAL FAR BEHIND

His uncle and Uttar Pradesh SP President Shivpal Singh Yadav got just 6.9 per cent support; when compared with Akhilesh, who received 77.1 per cent votes.
Among the Samajwadi Party supporters, 88.1 per cent party supporters want Akhilesh to take over the party, while 38.2 per cent claim that Akhilesh has not been successful in ridding the Samajwadi Party of its criminal image.

About 24.2 per cent even claimed that this family feud was merely an electoral farce to gain sympathy votes for Akhilesh.

VOTERS OBJECT TO NEW INCLUSIONS IN THE PARTY

The inclusion of Mukhtar Ansari and DP Yadav into the party was objected to by 60.4 per cent of the people, while only 19.4 per cent claimed that this was the right step. Among the SP voters, this percentage of Mukhtar supporters rose slightly to 22.5 per cent.

Also read: Samajwadi Party feud: What happened beyond public gaze

In view of this survey, it has become clear that the Samajwadi Party is going through the worst times since its inception and unless Mulayam and Akhilesh do not take urgent steps to reconcile their differences and focus on the impending assembly elections, we could be seeing the last of a united Samajwadi Party as in event of an electoral defeat, the party could break into two or more factions, with separate power centres.