The Election Commission will decide today who, between Mulayam and Akhilesh, will get the cycle symbol
Congress leader and renowned lawyer Kapil Sibal told the Election Commission on Friday afternoon why the Samajwadi Party's cycle symbol must be allotted to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and not his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, who launched the party 25 years ago. After a break for lunch, an equally heavy-weight legal team will argue before the poll panel why the symbol must stay with Mulayam Singh, who has been at the commission's office since before noon today. Akhilesh Yadav is in Lucknow and is being represented at the Election Commission hearing today by his uncle Ram Gopal Yadav, who is steering his rebellion against his father.
Here are the 10 latest developments:
The Election Commission will decide today which faction will get the "cycle" symbol to contest next month's UP elections. It could also decide to "freeze" the symbol allotting it to neither father nor son.
Kapil Sibal told the commission that Akhilesh Yadav is now the president of the Samajwadi Party and so the cycle symbol belongs to him. He said an overwhelming majority in the party support Akhilesh and their signatures of support have been submitted to the panel.
Team Akhilesh has plan B ready and will ask for the "motorcycle" as its symbol if it does not get the cycle today, sources close to him have said. The motorcycle, they say, represents a step up from the cycle, made wildly popular in the last elections by Akhilesh Yadav, who rode one across hundreds of miles while campaigning.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Mohan Parasaran is representing Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has vowed to "save the cycle" which he describes as his signature. Team Mulayam has not indicated whether it has an alternative symbol in mind if it fails to get the cycle today. Mulayam Singh has an offer from a party called the Lok Dal to use its symbol - a farmer ploughing his field.
But Sunil Singh, the UP politician who has offered Mulayam Singh Yadav his symbol said the Samajwadi Party patriarch "is hopeful that the feud will be settled and the cycle symbol will not be frozen."
Mulayam Singh has made a big climbdown saying he has no dispute with his son, who will be projected as the party's chief minister. He had earlier said that only he would decide after the elections who will be chief minister if the Samajwadi Party gets re-elected.
But talks between father and son failed, with Akhilesh Yadav refusing to step down as Samajwadi Party president - his father's post that he appropriated at a big party meeting on January 1 - till after the UP elections, as he reportedly fears that Mulayam Singh will again be influenced in key decisions by his uncle Shivpal Yadav and politician Amar Singh.
Akhilesh has reportedly told his supporters not to "get trapped in the symbol dispute," also telling them on Thursday, "It is before the Election Commission and will get resolved tomorrow."
Nominations for the first phase of elections in UP start in four days, but the Samajwadi Party is yet to finalise candidates, with both Mulayam and Akhilesh releasing separate lists for many seats.
Elections will be held in seven phases in UP starting February 11, and nominations for the first phase begin on January 17. Votes will be counted on March 11.
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