UP polls: Mulayam Singh hopeful of returning to power

New Delhi, Dec 15 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has said that he is confident that his party would sweep the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Talking to reporters here, Yadav sounded upbeat about his party's prospects in the state elections that are scheduled to take place next year.

Reacting to the query that since the last few months it seemed that the elections in Uttar Pradesh were a two-horsed race between the ruling Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) and the Congress party, Yadav buoyantly dismissed the claims and held that nothing could stop his party from returning to power.

"Maybe this is what you (mediapersons) feel, I am surprised as to how do you feel that way. People of the state are totally backing us. There will be absolutely no competition. The Samajwadi Party will form the government in the state of Uttar Pradesh for sure," Yadav said.

On being asked about the Congress party's plan to 'appease' the Muslims, with a proposal to provide reservation to them, Yadav said that it was merely a political stunt.

"Look the point here is that the Congress party is raising this issue because its time for the assembly elections in the state. In our time 15 per cent of the police force in the state consisted of people from the Muslim community. Also whenever the Congress or the Bahujan Samaj Party have come to power not more than 1 or 2 per cent of the police force in the state consisted of Muslims. We first need to know what kind of reservation they are talking about (Congress)," said Yadav.

Yadav also slammed the BSP government's proposal to split the state of Uttar Pradesh into four parts.

He said that he would ensure that the state is not split and added that such a move would make the country weak.

"I will try to make sure that the state of Uttar Pradesh never splits. This is because the day Uttar Pradesh is split, India will become weak," said Yadav.

Various political outfits are leaving no stones unturned in garnering support ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections, which are scheduled in the early part of 2012, as this would help them in establishing a firm political base in India's fifth largest and most populous state before the 2014 general elections. (ANI)