Samajwadi Party
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Election symbol
History
Lalmani Verma, February 22, 2022: The Indian Express
Samajwadi Party’s election symbol
Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav founded the SP on October 4, 1992, and the party was allotted bicycle as its symbol for the UP Assembly election in 1993.
The SP contested 256 seats, and won 109. Mulayam became Chief Minister for the second time.
Mulayam had been Chief Minister earlier from 1989 to 1991, but he was then a part of the Janata Dal, whose election symbol was wheel.
Mulayam had earlier contested elections on symbols of other parties. He won his first Assembly election in 1967 as a candidate of the Samyukta Socialist Party, which had ‘bargad’ or banyan tree as its election symbol.
Mulayam went on to be elected MLA for seven more terms until 1996. Before he founded the SP in 1992, Mulayam also contested on symbols like ‘bailon ki jodi’ (pair of oxen), and ‘Kandhe par hal dhare kisan’ (farmer with plough). The latter was the symbol of the Janata Party, and Mulayam was elected as its candidate from Jaswant Nagar in 1991.
Symbolism of the bicycle
“When it came to selecting an election symbol for the 1993 Assembly polls, Netaji (Mulayam) and other senior leaders picked bicycle (from among available choices) as the symbol,” Naresh Uttam Patel, UP president of Samajwadi Party, said.
This was because, Patel said, “in that period, the bicycle was the vehicle of farmers, the poor, labourers, and the middle class, and riding a bicycle was cheaper and good for health as well”.
The SP has contested all elections on the bicycle symbol ever since, Patel said.
While building and expanding his party, Mulayam and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav would frequently ride bicycles. Mulayam continued to ride a bicycle during canvassing even after becoming Chief Minister.
Shivpal formed a different party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP-Lohia), after differences with Akhilesh, but he is contesting the current Assembly election from Jaswant Nagar on the SP’s bicycle symbol.
Patel recalled that during the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, bicycle tracks had been built in cities across the state, and bicycles had been distributed to girl students and labourers.
On the PM’s remark on the SP’s election symbol, Patel said, “PM does jumlebaazi with such remarks. His government has no concern for inflation, unemployment, and farmers. The PM works for rich industrialists, while the SP’s bicycle is associated with the poor and farmers.”
SP founder member and Uttarakhand State president Satyanarayan Sachan said that even after becoming MLA for three terms, Mulayam rode a bicycle till 1977. “Later some other party leader collected money and bought a car for him,” Sachan said.
He added that the bicycle symbol reflects the party’s dedication and commitment for the poor, Dalits, farmers, and labourer classes. “Its two wheels stand for the way society and socialists keep moving, while its handle is for balancing,” Sachan said.
He said that even outside UP, the SP contests Assembly elections on the bicycle symbol.
Before the 2012 elections, in which the SP won an absolute majority, Akhilesh Yadav had taken out cycle yatras across the state to mobilise workers and voters. Even now, he gives interviews while riding a bicycle, even though his campaigns in both 2017 and 2022 have been carried out on modified chariots. However, other SP leaders took out bicycle yatras in their districts ahead of these elections.
Swami Nath Yadav’s gift
Rohan Dua, Bicycle tales: Man who gifted MSY his symbol , March 1, 2017: The Times of India
Swami Nath Yadav gets emotional as he recalls how he won his first election in 1989 as an Independent on the bicycle symbol. This was much before Mulayam Singh Yadav made it his party sym bol. Clad in sadri (waistcoat) and kurta, he sits in the dhaba one of his five sons runs at this village of Deoria district.
He played a key role in government formation then, persuading 40-odd MLAs to help Mulayam's Janata Dal reach majority . The Janata Dal won 208 seats out of 425.
That government lasted two years, but Swami became a known name in the Janata Parivar.
The friendship between Mulayam and Swami grew so thick that when MSY launched SP in 1992, he approached EC seeking cycle as his party symbol. Swami fought for SP in 1993 and won. More than two decades later, he remains just as popular, but his support is now for BSP.
“The cycle and I have been lucky for SP. I'm thankful to Mulayam for his help in boosting my political career. His party doesn't respect the poor. I thank Akhilesh for increasing ex-MLA pension from Rs 15,000 to Rs 29,000. Two months ago, he even called out to me at a rally .But we all move on. I still want to serve rural people, hence BSP,“ Swami Nath says.
As an ex-MLA, Swami uses his travel pass on buses and trains and takes needy locals along.Swami loves cycling but doesn't any more.
People discourage him to do so over his frosty ties with SP . “I deserved an SP ticket. I helped Mulayam.My respect for him or Akhilesh hasn't diminished,“ says Swami.
Election campaigns
Harvard prof to manage 2017 polls
Subhash Mishra, SP campaign in Harvard prof's hands, Sep 19 2016 : The Times of India
The battle of image-makers in UP just got more interesting.
After Congress's attempt to reclaim its position in the state through political strategist Prashant Kishor, the ruling SP has roped in world-renowned political consultant Steve Jarding of Harvard University to handle the election campaign for its attempt to win a second consecutive term. Jarding, a campaign manager and political consultant for the Democrats in the US, was already advising SP on various issues, but is now officially on board.
On assuming command, the first thing Jarding did was redesign the publicity campaign for the SP government's welfare schemes, and actress Vidya Balan was roped in to endorse Samajwadi Pension Yojana. Talking exclusively to TOI in Lucknow, Jarding said: “Samajwadi Pension Scheme has reached far and wide, but the problem is that the beneficiaries don't know whether it is a state scheme or central. So I suggested to the chief minister that the publicity programmes and campaigns be redesigned.“
Jarding, who is in the city with his team to finalise the micro-level management of electioneering for SP, claimed that CM Akhilesh Yadav had an “impressive connect with the youth and people in rural areas, who see him as a person dedicated to development“.
The Times of India
Talking about his strategy , he said that in UP -India's most populous state -one universal manifesto may not work. He said that the CM has to get feedback from every constituency on what is required at the local level. “For example, non-payment of cane arrears may be an issue in western UP, but it is a non-issue in Bundelkhand. So, he has to draw up different programmes for different regions,“ he said.
Jarding will also train SP candidates on how to communicate with constituents and address issues. His teams are camping in villages, getting feedback and sending it to the CM's office for urgent redressal. “The chief minister told me to stay in the house of the poorest of poor villagers, live with him for about a week, and then report. So I did, and sent my report. District officials addressed the issues within 24 hours,“ he added.From his primary survey , and from the feedback given to the CM, a clean image emerges of Akhilesh. “This could be the game-changer,“ remarked Jarding.
Jarding, who teaches public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, has been a campaigner, manager, political consultant and strategist since 1980. His clients include US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former US vice-president Al Gore, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Samajwadi Vikas Rath
There is a large graphic on the Samajwadi Vikas Rath elsewhere on this page.
Vis-à-vis the Congress
2017: a softening of the stance
Subhash Mishra, Mulayam mind games: Decoding his flip-flops, Feb 4, 2017: The Times of India
Even by his own standard of somersaults, Mulayam Singh Yadav's latest was unsettling. Two days after the SP patriarch insisted he was against the SP-Congress alliance and he wouldn't campaign for it, he made this sharp U-turn: “I'll campaign not only for SP , but also for the Congress.“
“This radical course correction shows the SP patriarch's dilemma whether to go with his son and endorse the Congress, or stick to his brand of Samajwad the bedrock of which is anti-Congressism,“ says a political analyst.
As Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi held their three-hour roadshow in Lucknow on Janauary 29, Mulayam dropped a bombshell in Delhi. He rejected the alliance. The outburst didn't surprise those tracking his politics for decades. Mulayam's opposition to any alliance with Congress should be viewed with a historical perspective. “His entire political career rests on samajwad drawn from Lohia's socialism. Therefore, there was no compulsion for him to accept what his son had decided.“
The SP patriarch has been opposed to this alliance ever since reports about a the growing camaraderie between Akhilesh and RahulPriyanka Gandhi started doing the rounds in December. On December 28, in the middle of a worsening family feud, he openly announced that SP was capable of winning the elections on its own, therefore, it was not have any alliance.
This is the first time that the SP and the Congress are in an electoral tie-up. In 1989-90, Rajiv Gandhi supported Mulayam's minority government. Later, MSY extended outside support to UPA-1 and 2. He saved Manmohan Singh's government after the Left withdrew support over the Indo-US nuclear deal.
But Mulayam's rise coincided with the Congress decline in UP . He knows if his party gives the Congress any space, it could bounce back. UP , a Congress fortress of 40 years since 1947, banked on Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims.After the Congress weakened following the Mandal-Mandir wave, Brahmins switched to the BJP , Dalits to the BSP and Muslims to the SP . Mulayam had a key role in the Congress's decimation, poaching its Muslim voters.
“One example shows how critical this minority vote has been. In the 2009 LS polls, when Mulayam embraced Kalyan Singh, blamed by Muslims for the Babri demolition, Muslims voted en masse for the Congress, it won an im pressive 22 seats,“ an observer recalls. Apart from ideological issues, this was why Mulayam opposed a Congress tie-up. “ A Congress revival would push the SP to the margins, he feared,“ an aide concedes. “Netaji also believes the party unleashed the CBI on him in a DA case,“ he adds.
In 1999, after A B Vajpayee's government fell, Sonia Gandhi staked claim to form government. Mulayam -who had 32 MPs -reportedly went back on his promise of support. Ever since, the two parties have been suspicious of each other. Despite Mulayam's readiness, Sonia didn't include the SP in the UPA. The party extended outside support. Mulayam has been equally belligerent against the BJP . The SPCongress deal never had his mental sanction.“He was uncomfortable with the every thought of endorsing Congress candidates,“ says an observer.
So, why this turnaround? It's a battle between his heart and head, says an SP leader.“Mentally he can't disassociate himself with the anti-Congress ideology . But his heart goes out to his son, who his fighting against odds,“ he says.
Aparna Yadav
Aparna's NGO milked 86% of UP's cow funds
Aparna’s NGO MILKED 86% OF UP’S gau funds|Jul 03 2017: The Times of India (Delhi)
Agra
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Akhilesh's Sister-In-law Got Rs 8.35cr
During Akhilesh Yadav's tenure as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, 86% of the total grant given by the Uttar Pradesh Gau Seva Aayog to cow shelters and cattle protection organisations went to sister-in-law Aparna Yadav's NGO Jeev Ashray , which runs Kanha Upvan Gaushala near Amausi, owned by Lucknow Nagar Nigam. Over five years, from 2012 to 2017, the aayog distributed grants worth Rs 9.66 crore, of which Rs 8.35 crore went to the NGO alone, according to an RTI reply , a copy of which is with TOI. Aparna had contested the assembly election in February from Lucknow Cantt constituency against BJP's Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
According to the reply to the RTI query filed by activist Nutan Thakur, during financial years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, Jeev Ashray was the only NGO to be given this grant, totalling Rs 50 lakh, Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 1.41crore respectively .
In 2015-16, Jeev Ashray got Rs 2.58 crore while Sripad Baba Gaushala, Vrindavan, received Rs 41 lakh. Further, in 2016-17, of the total grant of Rs 3.45 crore, Jeev Ashray received Rs 2.55 crore. In 2017-18, Rs 1.05 crore was given to various cattle shelters but Jeev Ashray did not receive any .Dayodaya Gaushala, Lalitpur, got the highest amount of Rs 63 lakh.
“Giving more than 80% of funds meant for a social cause to a particular NGO, over several years during the SP regime, is a clear indicator of the massive extent of nepotism in the previous government,“ Thakur told TOI.
DA case
Closed for lack of proof
DHANANJAY MAHAPATRA, May 22, 2019: The Times of India
The CBI informed the Supreme Court that it had closed the probe against Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Prateek Yadav way back in August 2013 as it did not find “sufficient evidence” to back allegations that they had amassed disproportionate assets.
“Since no prima facie evidence of commission of cognisable offence against the suspects was found during enquiry, hence the preliminary enquiry was not converted into a criminal case under Section 154 of CrPC and, as such, no enquiry was conducted in the matter after August 7, 2013,” the CBI said in an affidavit.
The CBI statement is interesting as the case against the SP bosses was kept hanging during most of UPA-1 and 2. The regional party had said the case should be re-examined. The SP had supported the Manmohan Singh government on the India-US nuclear deal in Parliament in 2008.
The affidavit was in response to the SC’s March 25 order on Congress leader Vishwanath Chaturvedi’s application seeking a direction to the CBI to reveal details of investigation it had carried out in the disproportionate assets case against the Yadavs. But the CBI affidavit gave no such details except stating that “sufficient evidence” was not found against them.
On a PIL filed by Chaturvedi, the SC in 2007, had directed CBI to inquire into disproportionate assets allegations against the Yadavs — Mulayam, Akhilesh and Prateek as well as Akhilesh’s wife Dimple. The Yadavs sought review of the order. The SC in 2012, dropped the probe against Dimple but asked CBI to proceed against the others.
Nearly seven years later, on March 25 this year, while dealing with Chaturvedi’s application, SC had reminded CBI that its probe status report 12 years ago had said that there was a prima facie DA case against the Yadavs. A three-judge bench led by the CJI had said, “The status report had said that a prima facie case is made out. But no FIR has been registered yet. We want to know what transpired in all these years.”
In its fresh affidavit, CBI said it carried out further probe after the SC order of December 13, 2012. “During the course of further enquiry, sufficient evidence to support the allegations of possession of disproportionate assets, jointly or individually, against Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members could not be brought out...The competent authority in CBI took a considered decision on August 7, 2013, to close the PE against all suspects,” it said.
See also
Samajwadi Party
