Mulayam turns up at Shivpal's party office, stumps Akhilesh camp

Lucknow : Seen recently on many occasions with his son and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav surprised many on Tuesday by turning up at his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav's recently-formed Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) in the state capital.

Addressing party workers and leaders at the 6, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg office of Shivpal's party, the former Chief Minister asked his brother to champion the cause of women, youth and the marginalised.

In the tussle between Akhilesh and Shivpal, Mulayam seemed to have gone in favour of his son. However, Tuesday's developments must have come as a surprise to many.

Mulayam was greeted by cheering PSP workers. Shivpal handed him the party flag and vacated his chair for his elder brother. He also said that he had thrice taken the permission of Mulayam before floating his own party following prolonged differences with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.

He urged Mulayam to accept the post of national president of PSP and said that a proposal to that effect will be placed at the party's national convention that will be called soon. "Neta ji (Mulayam) and I formed the SP with great hard work and toil but we were humiliated and marginalised in front of sycophants, forcing me to form my own party," Shivpal said.