SSM will not field candidate against Mulayam: Shivpal

Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday said his party will not field its candidate on the seat from which Samajwadi Party (SP) founder and his elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In August this year, Shivpal Singh Yadav had announced that his party will contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

He said he has also invited the SP patriarch to contest the elections on a ticket from his front.

The SSM will support Mulayam Singh Yadav if he chooses to contest the elections from any other party, Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters after inaugurating his party's office here.

The SSM will not field its candidate on the seat from where 'Netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) will contest, but it will contest all the other seats in the state, he said.

Shivpal Singh Yadav quit the SP and launched his party on August 29 after a feud with SP president and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.

The SSM leader said he floated his party with his elder brother's permission.

"We floated the Morcha after taking permission of 'Netaji' not once, but thrice...his blessings are always with me," he said.

Asked about SP president Akhilesh Yadav's reaction to his party, Shivpal Singh Yadav said he will not speak about individuals.

He claimed that all the political parties were perturbed by the growing public support for the SSM, adding that none of them will be able to form the government at the Centre or in the state without his party.

Shivpal Singh Yadav said his party is fighting for people's issues, while the others have chosen to remain mute spectators.

He said his party's fight has always been directly against the BJP and called on the like-minded parties and people to connect with the SSM.