SP allies flounder on presidential polls

Lucknow, July 12

The members of the Samajwadi-led alliance in Uttar Pradesh are moving in different directions regarding their stand on the July 18 presidential polls.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has announced it will vote for the opposition's joint candidate Yashwant Sinha. RLD president Jayant Chaudhary was present at a meeting in which Yashwant Sinha sought votes.

The Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia chief Shivpal Yadav has declared he will vote for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Draupadi Murmu.

The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) has indicated that it will go with the SP, but has not announced its final decision.

Both Shivpal Yadav and Pallavi Patel of Apna Dal won their seats -- Jaswant Nagar and Sirathu -- on SP tickets.

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which has been blowing hot and cold over its alliance with the SP, is still undecided.

SBSP leaders attended the dinner hosted by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for Draupadi Murmu on July 8, but Rajbhar claims that he will take a decision later.

Shivpal Yadav had also attended the meeting hosted by the chief minister in support of the NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu on July 8.

The RLD has eight MLAs, the SBSP has six MLAs (plus one of its members won the elections on the SP ticket), and PSPL's Shivpal is the lone MLA in his party. Pallavi Patel is the lone MLA in the Apna Dal (Kameravadi).