Cycle to Motorcycle? How Ram Gopal Yadav's Trip to EC Created a Stir

He is fondly called Professor Sahib in the Samajwadi Party by one and all, including Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP supremo's cousin and party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav has for years been the points person with the Election Commission in Delhi, handling all correspondence and communication.

But when a succession war is being openly waged in the family, when father, son, uncle and cousins are caught in an internecine sniping, it is but obvious that even a rustle of a feather is scrutinized for political overtones.

So was Ram Gopal's visit to the Election Commission earlier this week. Professor Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP, stayed at his Lodhi Estate government accommodation in Delhi for a couple of days before heading off down south, leading a delegation of parliamentary standing committee on Health, which he also heads.

Though sources in the Election Commission told CNN-News18 that Ram Gopal's visit to the commission was confined to merely seeking maps of the constituencies after delimitation. It is a routine exercise which political parties undertake before elections.

The uncle has been the most vociferous supporter of CM Akhilesh Yadav. He's already written to Mulayam Singh earlier holding him responsible if party tally comes down to double digit in the upcoming polls. In Bengaluru, speaking to CNN-News18, he said 95 percent of the party was with Akhilesh.

So, earlier this week, no sooner was Ram Gopal was out the Nirvachan Sadan, the power circuit in Delhi and Lucknow were rife with speculations on the developments. Some said it was the first step towards a split in the party. Other went a step further to name and even allocates a symbol.

Samajwadi Samata Party or SSP read a WhatsApp message, its genesis somewhere in Lucknow. After all, SSP wields more power than the SP or a Superintendent of Police in a district.

As for the symbol, the cycle of the Mulayam era was upgraded to motorcycle. The logic: it reflects the aspiring youth within party which identifies itself more with Akhilesh than the old guards.

The next day, Akhilesh wrote to papa Mulayam informing him of embarking on his election yatra. The patriarch has since been in Delhi, while Ram Gopal has left for his official tour of the south leading a delegation of lawmakers. He will return after a week.