Kalyan Blasts Mulayam, Son Quits SP

Ongoing Saga: adding a fresh chapter to his tumultuous political career, former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, on Sunday lashed out at Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, signaling the end of a loose political alliance the two forged in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.

Mincing no words Kalyan hit out at the SP leader, who he claimed to have helped win nine Lok Sabha segments, calling him an opportunist, he was addressing a press conference in Lucknow.

“Mulayam had extended an olive branch to me and I accepted that. He also wanted me to join his party and when I refused he asked me to allow my son to join his party and I obliged him,” said Kalyan.

Kalyan, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said he joined Mulayam against contrary counsel and blamed the SP leader of betraying and cheating him.

“The same Mulayam who is breaking ties with me now had provided me a helicopter and arranged rallies for me during the General Elections. I got them nine seats from the Chandusi region. Now that he is frustrated after the loss in recent polls he has disowned me,” he said.

Providing a sneak preview of his future plans, Kalyan said he continued to remain committed to building the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and lamented his decision to quit the BJP, a decision that he said weakened the party in the state.

While expressing desires of seeing a resurgence of the BJP, Kalyan urged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to take command of the party and take strong decisions regarding the party leadership.

Kalyan Singh’s son Rajbir Singh, also present at the press conference, announced his resignation from the post of SP general secretary and membership of the party.

“I would not like to be a part of the party where my father and our workers are not respected,” he said.

Kalyan, after years of twiddling his thumbs along political sidelines, had recently jumped back into the political thick, when his growing proximity to Mulayam came in for stringent criticism from within the SP and resulted in a major exodus of minority voters from the SP file.