QED president Afzal Ansari meets SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, announces joint rally

Following Quami Ekta Dal's (QED) merger with Samajwadi Party, its party president Afzal Ansari on 8 October met SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and announced a major rally, which will be held in Ghazipur next month.

"A meeting was held with the SP chief in a very cordial atmosphere and a decision has been taken to hold a rally in Mohamadabad area of Ghazipur in November," said Afzal, the elder brother of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

"The date of the rally will be decided after Diwali", Afzal said.

Asked how many QED members would contest the coming Assembly election, he said since his party had now merged with the Samajwadi Party, any decision in this regard would be taken by the SP leadership. He said his brother would contest elections from the Mau seat for the SP. "We have already started working as Samajwadi Party workers," Afzal said.

On 6 October, the Samajwadi Party's state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav had cleared the air over the merger with the QED. "QED has already merged with SP. Netaji (Mulayam) has already made a statement in this regard in the media. His decision in final," Shivpal had said.

The SP-QED merger was announced in June in the presence of Yadav but as Akhilesh, who was the party's state president then, was reportedly against the move, it was called off by the party's state parliamentary board a few days later. Speculation is rife that the formal announcement of the merger again by Shivpal might create fresh problems within Yadav family, as Akhilesh is said to be against it.

--PTI