Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh appears to have thrown his hat into the ring for Prime Ministership in case a Third Front government comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections, saying a non-Congress, non-BJP front will not be able to form a government without his party’s support.
While Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats in the Lok Sabha, “Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu) has only 39 seats, Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) 42, Parkash Singh Badal (Punjab) 13 and Bihar 40,” he said addressing the “Desh bachao, desh banao” rally here on Monday.
Mr. Singh said if the Samajwadi Party won a majority of the seats, about which he sounded confident, he would be elevated into a leadership role in the Third Front and become the natural choice for the Prime Minister’s post.
“Who will form the government without the Samajwadi Party? Will it be possible to form the next government without the Samajwadi Party?” he asked even as he urged party workers to win all seats from the State for the party.
He accused the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, who spoke a day ago in Meerut, of discriminating against Muslims. He alleged that a conspiracy had been hatched to oust Sikhs from Gujarat as their land was being seized by the State government.
Expressing his readiness for a debate with “Modi saab,” he said the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate had been spreading rumours about the development of Uttar Pradesh.
The Samajwadi Party government had waived loans amounting to Rs. 16.5 crore of farmers, had made water free for irrigation and ensured free treatment for life-threatening diseases.
“Modi saab, what have you done for the people of Gujarat?” he asked and asserted that Gujarat could not match Uttar Pradesh in development.
Mulayam irked by inclusion on corrupt list
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh, on Monday, launched a veiled attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for including him on the list of corrupt politicians against whom the Aam Aadmi Party would contest the Lok Sabha elections.
“All politicians are corrupt, he is the only honest person,” Mr. Singh said. “Those who claim to be honest are actually dishonest.”
Mr. Singh, addressing the “Desh Bachao, Desh Banao” rally here on Monday, said he did not want to file a case against Mr. Kejriwal. Otherwise, he would land in jail.
The Samajwadi Party chief said he had been given a clean chit by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the disproportionate assets (DA) case.
