Be prepared for early Lok Sabha polls, Mulayam exhorts partymen

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav once again raised the possibility of early polls on Friday when he urged his partymen to stay focused on their work as the Lok Sabha election could be less than a year away. This is the second time he\'s talked of polls - earlier this week, he had said there was little point in becoming a minister at the Centre for only one year.



\"There is no guarantee when the Lok Sabha elections might take place,\" Mulayam told party workers in Lucknow on the occasion of socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia\'s birth anniversary. This poll talk was at odds with Mulayam Singh\'s reaction soon after its triumphant victory in Uttar Pradesh that there was no possibility of a mid-term election.



Mulayam Singh\'s statement immediately had political circles buzzing even as it was being interpreted in several ways.



People noted that it coincided with the impression that talks between Congress and SP on power-sharing at the Centre hasn\'t made headway and that Mulayam Singh was driving a hard bargain as Congress needed him more that he needed it.



In New Delhi, Congress dismissed the possibility of early polls and told Yadav there was no point in creating an air of uncertainty or instability \"where none exists\".



Congress on Friday dismissed the possibility of early Lok Sabha polls hinted at by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said, \"There is obviously no guarantee that the sky may not fall on our heads or that Yeddyurappa will stop demanding the chief minister\'s chair.



But the possibility of mid-term polls is as remote as that.\" The fact that Congress has given in to Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee\'s demand to change the railway minister and a rollback in proposed rail fare hike would again indicate that Mulayam Singh was not playing ball, leaving Congress no option but to acquiesce in Trinamool\'s politics of brinkmanship.



Some political observers, however, saw Mulayam Singh\'s statement as a ploy to get his ebullient Yadav cadre focused on the job at hand, instead of indulging in celebratory excesses. He told party workers on Friday that they should go to officials and tell them that the SP poll manifesto had to be implemented without delay so that if polls are prematurely called, the party has something to show.



While at one level, this might be a directive to prepare for polls, at another, it could be a tactic to get the cadre to fall in line. In fact, there is no seeming contradiction between the two goals. A more focused cadre would, in fact, help Mulayam\'s son, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, carry out his job effectively.



The 224 seats SP won with a 30% vote share in the assembly elections translate to at least 40 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats from UP, a number which would give the party significant leverage with any bloc that forms the government. And SP can hope to ride on its present popularity if elections are held soon.



\"Samajwad cannot be confined to Uttar Pradesh. It is the only way of life that can bring India together to fight for its rights,\" Mulayam said, adding that the era of bigger parties was over and now regional players would be in a dominant role. \"Initial experiments with the coalition politics failed but in the past 10 years we have seen that coalition governments can also provide stability. Today 80% people agree that coalition politics is here to stay. I am sure 10 years from now 100% will agree with me.\"



When Akhilesh was crowned CM, he made it clear that while he was being entrusted with the task of handling the state, Netaji - as Mulayam is popularly known among his followers - would focus on the Centre. So far, SP has avoided any confrontation with the Centre, in fact bailing out the UPA earlier this week on the issue of the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Parliament by voting in its favour. However, Mulayam had also clarified that SP will not join the UPA but continue to extend issue-based support to stop communal forces from grabbing power. But Friday\'s statement makes it clear that the Centre can no longer take Mulayam\'s support for granted.



The Yadav satrap also said the UP government headed by Akhilesh will implement all the promises made in the election manifesto within a year. That would give it a winning edge if elections are held within a year.


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