Shivpal launches election campaign alone

Shivpal Singh Yadav, who was sacked as Uttar Pradesh minister and state unit president of the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Thursday launched the party’s election campaign, a week before Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s proposed ‘rathyatra’ in the state.

Shivpal, who addressed a public meeting at Deoband in Saharanpur district here, reiterated that he would “purge” the party of “criminal elements”.

“Our election campaign has started,” he declared, as he vowed to bring the party back to power in the 2017 Assembly elections. He also said he would prevent “communal forces” from coming to power.

Earlier, in an informal chat with reporters, Shivpal said that he would be joining Akhilesh on his rathyatra, provided he was invited.

He also took a dig at Akhilesh and said that he (Shivpal) believed in “taking everyone along” rather than throwing people out, apparently referring to the chief minister’s demand to show the door to party Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh. “I am only following the instructions of netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav)”, Shivpal said.

Akhilesh had already declared that he would chart out a separate campaign strategy and undertake a rathyatra from November 3 and cover the entire state.

The chief minister also released a campaign video, showcasing the works undertaken by his government during its four-and-half-year tenure.  The video, incidentally, does not feature either Mulayam or Shivpal, but included Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh’s wife and MP from Kannauj.

The special vehicle carrying Akhilesh during the rathyatra will be installed with state-of-the-art gadgets and will only have pictures of the chief minister, sources said.