Not to be left out, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has dived into the five-state Assembly poll sweepstakes with determination — he has just completed the first phase of selection of candidates and released the list of names. So far, 58 candidates have been finalised for Madhya Pradesh, 18 for Rajasthan and five for Delhi. The SP’s participation in the polls is not just a serious bid to expand its base and fulfil its national aspirations, it is also a desperate leap to attain the elusive Election Commission tag of a ‘‘national party’’. For, despite the party’s presence in UP, where it is in power — with 28 per cent vote share and 28 MPs in Parliament — it has to contend with a regional party tag. Of course, if Mulayam achieves this, he will have pipped Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu at the post by freezing the ‘‘cycle’’ symbol. Both parties share the symbol in their respective states. Asource says: ‘‘Mulayam is waiting for the national parties to finalise their list of candidates so that he can give tickets to those who are disgruntled or have been denied tickets.”
