SP feud refuses to die down as Mulayam says 'I am still the boss'

In wake of the growing feud between the two warring factions of the Samajwadi Party, Mulayam Singh on Sunday categorically stated that he was still the party president while his son Akhilesh Yadav is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Mulayam, who put forth his views before the media here lashed out at his cousin and Akhilesh loyalist Ramgopal Yadav. He said that Ramgopal having been expelled from the party for six years cannot call the convention.

He also stated that Shivpal Yadav is the president of Samajwadi Party's Uttar Pradesh unit.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister who was flanked by Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh during the conference, however, refused to divulge further information on his future strategy.

According to sources, Mulayam will on Monday urge the Election Commission to check the authenticity and legality of papers submitted by Ramgopal.

Earlier in the day, Amar Singh claimed that the signatures of support are forged and hence their authenticity is doubtful.

"The numbers of MLAs supporting you matters when a government has to be formed. It's not the same for party symbol," Singh told ANI in an exclusive conversation.

The Akhilesh Yadav camp yesterday submitted affidavits signed by party legislators and office bearers to the Election Commission, in a bid to buttress its claim over the Samajwadi Party's 'cycle' symbol ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Ramgopal yesterday said that the relevant documents, brought in "seven cartons with more than 1.5 lakh pages", were submitted to the poll panel to assert Akhilesh's right over the party name and symbol.

He said that he submitted affidavits of 4,716 delegates of the total 5,731, indicating overwhelming support for Akhilesh.

The Election Commission had given both sides time till January 9 to submit proof of their legislative support.