Shivpal Yadav not dejected after nephew Akhilesh's 'cycle' win, vows to contest UP assembly polls

Lucknow: Shivpal Yadav, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh's younger brother who was in the centre of a bitter feud in Uttar Pradesh' first family, is not disheartened after the Election Commission allotted the party symbol 'cycle' to his estranged nephew and the young Chief Minister of the state, Akhilesh.

Virtually isolated in the party after the poll panel's ruling in favour of his nephew, Shivpal had confirmed that he will contest next month's assembly elections in the state.

"I will fight the elections," Shivpal Yadav was quoted as saying by NDTV.

It was earlier reported that SP patron Mulayam had given a list of 38 candidates - which can't be overlooked - to Akhilesh when the young Chief Minister came to seek his blessings yesterday.

The list had no mention of Shivpal initially but, it is believed, that the 61-year-old politician's name was added last night. It was reported that Mulayam later revised the list, scratching out the name of Shivpal's son Aditya Yadav, to add his for the Jaswantnagar constituency that he represents.

Mulayam had reportedly told Akhilesh that the names mentioned in the list were of staunch party loyalists who have worked hard and deserved to be fielded as party candidates.

Akhilesh, who has now been recognised by the Election Commission as the Samajwadi Party's chief and authorised to use its symbol cycle, will hold a meeting this evening to finalise the Samajwadi Party's candidates for UP. 

Akhiles-led faction will contest the election in partnership with the Congress, and has offered a little over a 100 of UP's 403 seats for the ally and any others who join them.

Akhilesh Yadav's party will contest about 300 seats, reports said, and the Chief Minister is expected to accommodate all the 38 people recommended by his father; many of the names, it is believed, overlap with the son's nominees for those seats.