SP gala to reunite Janata Parivar players

Lucknow: The stage is set for the silver jubilee celebrations of the Samajwadi Party at Janeshwar Mishra Park on Saturday. The grand programme has also become significant as it will see the reunion of the Janata Parivar, if not the formation of a mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) yet.
RJD president Lalu Prasad, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav and veteran parliamentarian and lawyer Ram Jethmalani had already arrived in the city. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav called on them late on Friday evening. While Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala are expected to arrive on Saturday morning there was no clarity whether JD(U) president and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his party’s general secretary KC Tyagi would attend the celebrations.
More than one lakh SP supporters are expected at the event where party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav will recount the genesis of the party and the journey so far. The possibility of a mahagathbandhan is unlikely but all key players would be seen together on the podium.
“Samajwadi and Lohiawadi leaders will share the stage with ‘Netaji’(Mulayam),” said SP state chief Shivpal Yadav. “With the event, SP will formally launch its election campaign from tomorrow (Saturday),” he said, adding that its main objective is to prevent the formation of BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.
SP leaders said talks on mahagathbandhan are not on the agenda during the event. “Such discussions are not held at party functions like the one we are having on Saturday,” said a senior SP leader who did not rule out the issue being taken up with senior leaders of Janata Parivar in the near future.
After a public spat, Samajwadi Party leaders had put up a united front during the first leg of Akhilesh Yadav’s Vikas Rath Yatra on Thursday with Mulayam and Shivpal extending their best wishes. At the silver jubilee celebrations, Akhilesh Yadav, as the chief minister, will be the guest of honour.
Event convener and cabinet minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati said party supporters in large numbers started arriving in Lucknow from Friday.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made by police to ensure security of VVIP guests and party workers. “Besides a DIG level officer, five SPs, 24 ASPs, 39 circle officers and a large number of PAC personnel would be present at the venue,” IG Lucknow zone A Satish Ganesh said.