Akhilesh Yadav's New Ads Give Father Mulayam The Bigger Role

Lucknow: As Akhilesh Yadav tries to reboot his relationship with his father, Mulayam Singh, his new social media campaign pays tribute to the 77-year-old.

The slides, which serve as adverts, give pride of place to Mulayam Singh, with smaller real estate for 43-year-old Akhilesh, who is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh."Saath rahein!" (stay together) declares one sample. Another urges "Aagey badein!" (let's move on).
 The show and words of solidarity are meant to reassure Samajwadi Party workers that after a volcanic few weeks, the Yadavs are back in synch. It's crucial branding also for Akhilesh Yadav, who will seek to reassure voters, especially older males, that despite a hostile take-over of the party, which included him assuming the office of party president which was held by his father, he remains a respectful son who will honour his father's contribution to his career and their party.
 Last evening, Akhilesh Yadav was recognized as the legitimate custodian of that party, founded more than 20 years ago by Mulayam Singh. Over-ruling the patriarch's claim, the Election Commission awarded to the Chief Minister the rights to use the party name and symbol - a cycle - and said his group of supporters, based on their numbers and written statements of support - are now the real Samajwadi Party. Aware of the ignominy of that ruling, Akhilesh Yadav rushed within minutes of the decision to meet Mulayam Singh and later tweeted a photo of them together. This morning, he told NDTV that the photo was, in fact, an old one, put to good use to show differences are being bridged.

This morning, father and son met again and made more progress. Mulayam Singh agreed that he is unlikely to contest the election separately, but asked the Chief Minister to include about 40 candidates of his choice in the list of those who will run for office. Notably missing from Mulayam Singh's roster is younger brother Shivpal Yadav, hostile opponent of the Chief Minister. However, Shivpal Yadav's son, Adiyta, has made the cut, and is now under review by the Chief Minister's team.