Akhilesh Yadav has been elected as the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief for the next five years at the party’s 10th national convention held in Agra on Thursday.
With this, Mr. Yadav’s control over the party is final, as the party’s working committee on Wednesday amended its constitution to ensure he will be the party’s face for the next five years.
The Samajwadi Party will thus face the 2019 general elections and 2022 State Assembly polls under Mr. Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership.
After being elected as the party chief, Akhilesh Yadav addressed thousands of party delegates, where he tried to assert that he had the blessings of both his father Mulayam Singh and uncle Shivpal Yadav, party stalwarts with whom he was engaged in a strong contest for the control of the party.
“I talked to Netaji [Mulayan Singh Yadav] several times since yesterday. All of us wanted that he graces us with his presence at the convention. This morning, he called and gave me his blessings. He also expressed his heartfelt good wishes for the Samajwadi Party,” Mr. Yadav said.
He emphasised that only the SP had the courage and strength to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He hit out at the BJP governments in the State and at the Centre for “destroying the country’s economy”. “The manner in which GST (Goods and Services Tax) has been formulated has adversely affected business. The business sector, which faced roadblocks due to demonetisation, has now completely stopped because of GST. Both GST and demonetisation have combined to snatch employment from youngsters,” Akhilesh said, amid thunderous applause from party workers.
PTI adds:
BJP prime target at SP meet
The BJP was the prime target at the Samajwadi Party’s national convention here on Thursday with the Akhilesh Yadav-led party accusing it of playing divisive politics, spreading lies and misusing agencies like the ED and the CBI.
A resolution passed at the meet said that no government which had implemented the GST in other countries returned to power and claimed that the Modi government would also face the same result.
“The way the BJP used propaganda, misused EVMs, used media to spread lies and encouraged communal flare-ups to grab power...It can be compared to Hitler,” SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said.
