Mulayam Singh claims no rift with son Akhilesh Yadav, blames Ram Gopal Yadav for crisis

Lucknow : Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday insisted there were no differences between him and his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

After meeting Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, Mulayam Singh told the media, in an apparent reference to Ram Gopal Yadav, that "one person" was creating problems in the party.

"There are some who have influenced my son (Akhilesh). I had a talk with him last night and also in the morning with him over the issue. There is no dispute between my son and me.

"There is only a bit of dispute within the party, not much. Only one person is responsible for this. But that will be resolved soon," he added.

On Sunday, Mulayam Singh had said he remained the party President and Akhilesh Yadav was just the Chief Minister.

The comment followed the Akhilesh faction's decision of January 1 to replace Mulayam Singh with the Chief Minister as the Samajwadi Party head.

Since then, both factions of the party have petitioned the Election Commission to claim its symbol 'cycle' ahead of assembly elections in the state.