Mulayam Singh: 'I have never betrayed anyone' Really?

Samajwadi Party's chief had made the statement in repose to the Union Minister Beni Prasad's verbal attack against him

Mulayam Singh yadav has been railing against Beni prasad Verma, his compatriot and once, his right hand man. The Kurmi and Yadav vote coalesced in Uttar Pradesh, unlike Bihar, and was responsible once upon a time for giving the Samajwadi Party some spectacular election victories. That is probably why Beni Prasad Verma’s desertion has caused Mulayam Singh Yadav so much pain. Dubbing it ‘betrayal’ Mulayam Singh yadav says self-righteously that he was responsible for Benibabu’s rise in power: and look at what he’s saying now !. “I have never betrayed anyone in my political life”, Mulayam says.

This is a stupendous claim. Mamata Bannerjee was given certain assurances by Yadav who simply withdrew from their joint undertaking to prevent a Congress nominee – Pranab Mukherjee – from becoming President of India. On the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, Mulayam sided with his erstwhile best friends, the Left parties, and then…. Crossed over to the other side, backing the Congress-led UPA.

In 2002, the SP was part of the People's Front, a coalition of non-Congress and non-BJP political parties. APJ Abdul Kalam'’s name was floated by the then BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. The Left parties opposed Kalam and decided to field Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, a veteran freedom fighter from the Indian National Army. However, the SP parted ways with the People's Front at the eleventh hour and supported Kalam's candidature. Though Left parties accused Mulayam Singh of betrayal, the SP chief got political mileage by supporting a "Muslim" for the post of president.

Go back further and there is more evidence of betrayal. He was first elected to the UP Assembly in 1967 on the ticket of the Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), led by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, one of India’s best known Socialists. In 1968, following Lohia’s death, he joined the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) headed by Charan Singh in 1968. In 1974 the SSP and the BKD merged to become the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) and gave him a ticket, so no prizes for guessing why Yadav joined it in the first place. The BLD joined the Janata Party in 1977 and Yadav became a minister in the UP cabinet for the first time.

Charan Singh pulled out of the Janata Party in 1979 but this time Mulayam Singh Yadav stayed with him. Charan Singh’s new party was called the Lok Dal (LD). After Charan Singh’s death, the party split again into two: Charan Singh’s US-educated son Ajit Singh took over his father’s legacy but Mulayam Singh thought he was the true inheritor. The Ajit Singh led faction was called LD A, Mulayam Singh’s faction was called LD B.

A strategic merged followed in 1989: the LD B merged with the Janata Dal in 1989 and this was the real movement forward for Yadav: he became Chief Minister of UP for the first time, as a result of the merger. The Janata Dal didn’t last for long, it split into two and Yadav elected to desert it to throw in his lot with Chandra Shekhar’s Samajvadi Janata party (SJP). This partnership lasted for two years. In 1992, he split from the SJP and formed his own outfit, the Samajwadi Party which has endured till today.

The 1984 Lok Sabha election, held after Indira Gandhi’s assassination saw the opposition decimated. In UP, Veer Bahadur Singh became Chief Minister, replacing Narayan Dutt Tewari. Mulayam Singh Yadav and the new Chief Minister were very good personal friend but politically, sworn enemies. An interesting phase of politics followed. By 1986 Charan Singh fell dangerously ill. The tussle to take on the mantle of leadership started between his son Ajit Singh and Yadav even as Charan Singh lay on his death bed. Ajit Singh took over the party and as chief of the party, sacked Yadav from the post of leader of the opposition.

As the influence of Charan Singh was not confined to UP – Lok Dal was present in Haryana, represented by Devi Lal and in Bihar, represented first by Karpoori Thakur and later by other leaders – Ajit Singh’s exit meant the creation of autonomous Lok Dal satraps.

Having lost another patron and in order to keep his clout intact, Mulayam Singh Yadav lost no time in forging a grand alliance of smaller groups in UP – the Janata Party, the two Left parties, even the Sanjay Vichar Manch. Ajit Singh in the meantime, became a poster boy of the Congress, identifying with the world view of Rajiv Gandhi. The opposition space was free for Yadav to occupy.

The new coalition was called Krantikari Morcha. In the parallel, the Lok Dal was having its own problems, leading to another split. Mualaym Singh now had other ambitions. In addition to the state, he wanted to play a role at the centre. Everyone was a friend: VP Singh, Devi Lal and Chandra Shekhar. He launched an energetic succession of yatras and these leaders came to recognize him as a leading political light of UP.

The 1989 Lok Sabha elections were held against the backdrop of the rise of the Hindutva sentiment. VP Singh’s campaign against corruption paid off. Mulayam Singh Yadav had supported  both Chandra Shekhar and VP Singh and equivocated briefly but had no choice but to let the former down when Devi Lal announced VP Singh for Prime Minister and Chandra Shekhar left the Central Hall in humiliation. His claim for Chief Ministership  of UP was backed by the Janata Dal leadership against Ajit Singh’s. He became Chief Minister for the first time in 1989.

So as history shows us, every move by Mulayam Singh Yadav has been calculated to add to his political capital. Every time, it has been betrayal. This time, it is no different.