Saifai (Etawah), Feb 20: Mulayam Singh Yadav made it clear on Sunday that his brother Shivpal will be a minister in Akhilesh Yadav's new government.
On Shivpal's role in the new government, Mulayam said he would certainly be part of the new government. He was dismissive of Akhilesh's veiled attack on uncle Shivpal at a recent campaign rally: "That was meant for some local party workers who had harmed the party," Mulayam said.
His statement is being seen as an attempt to scotch rumours that Shivpal was planning to float a party after the results are announced on March 11. At the height of the family feud, Shivpal had claimed he would form a party. He had subsequently retracted saying he'd consult 'Netaji' and would do as he was told.
The Samajwadi patriarch's statement came hours after Akhilesh voted at Jaswantnagar, Shivpal's constituency, and limited himself to saying: "I have voted for the SP candidate."
He stopped short of taking his estranged uncle's name. The CM dismissed reports that he had asked party workers to teach a lesson to those trying to sabotage the party, flatly denying that his attack was aimed at Shivpal.
"I said it in another constituency and it was meant for someone else ... how can you connect the two?" Akhilesh had earlier been quoted saying at an Etawah rally that people he had trusted the most had stabbed him in the back and created a rift between him and his father.
Shivpal, too, sounded conciliatory saying he had forgiven Akhilesh for all that he had said.
Reacting to Mulayam's statement that Akhilesh would be CM again and he a member of his ministry, Shivpal said: "If Netaji has said so, I will accept."
Quizzed about the responsibility he'd like to shoulder in the new government, Shivpal said it would be a bit premature to comment on such issues: "Yeh sab to March 11 ko chunao parinaam aane ke baad ki baat hai, (These are matters for after the election results on March 11)."
Shivpal held over half a dozen key portfolios before he was dropped from the Akhilesh government.
Poll percentage up: The third phase of polling in 69 constituencies in the Yadav belt and the Awadh region registered 61.16% polling, an increase of over 1% from 2012. The turnout, indicative of voters going in for a decisive mandate, was higher than that in the 2014 LS elections when 58.2% polling was recorded in these assembly segments of 12 districts. Chief electoral officer T Venkatesh said Sitapur district recorded the highest 68.5% voting.
Next came Barabanki district where 68.13% voting took place. Among constituencies, Mahmoodabad in Sitapur registered the highest voting percentage of 72.40%. Kanpur, at 56.42%, recorded the lowest turnout of this phase. Lucknow recorded 58.1% voting, an increase from 56.68 % in 2012. The Bakshi Ka Talab assembly seat had the highest poll percentage of 66.93%, while Lucknow Cantt — where Mulayam's younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav is a candidate — recorded only 50.98% polling.
Voting percentage saw an increase in the Yadav-dominated districts. Etawah recorded 60.14% compared to 59.87% in 2012. Mainpuri registerd 59.51% in comparison to 59.46 in the previous assembly elections. Kannauj witnessed the highest jump — from 57.73% in 2012 to 62.88 this year — while in Auraiya, the poll percentage went up from 58.98 in 2012 to 60.62% this time. Venkatesh said a few stray non-poll incidents of protest were reported from Etawah and Mainpuri. An incident of voters boycotting polling in protest against lack of development in an area was reported from Auraiya.
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