Yeddyur­a­ppa Mulayam meet sets off speculation

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Bengaluru: Amid speculation that Kar­nataka Janata Party (KJP) chief B.S. Yeddyur­a­ppa is exploring the possibility of joining the third front, the former CM met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during his visit to Bengaluru on Sunday.
Sources said he is testing the waters to see if a Third Front can prove to be a viable alternative to the Congress and BJP in the forthcoming general elections, particularly in Karnataka where the JD(S), a Third Front constituent is a powerful force.
After hosting an iftar party here, Yadav and Yeddyurappa were clos­eted in the cottage of a plush hotel on Sunday for more than one hour where they reportedly discussed issues related to the possible formation of a Third Front at the national level.
“I was surprised to see Yeddyurappa visiting Netaji’s cottage. I wasn’t expecting him, however, Netaji (Mulayam Singh) had told me that a prominent leader would come to meet him and I was waiting for him,” a senior SP leader from the state said.
The source added that bef­ore Yeddyurappa’s visit, Yadav met former railway minister C. K. Jaffer Sharief and former minister Roshan Baig with UP chief minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav too present.
“We thought they had met to discuss matters other than politics. But it became amply clear when Yedd­y­urappa arrived that the meeting was more than an apolitical discussion,” the source rationalised.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Yeddyur­appa downplayed the mee­t­ing with Yadav des­c­ribing it as a courtesy call. “I came to know that Yadav had arrived in the city and dro­p­ped in to say hello to him,” he said. Yeddy­u­rappa has been adv­ocating a grand alliance of all opposition parties including the BJP, KJP and JD(S) to defeat the Congress in Karnataka. 
SP dreams big in state
Keeping his cards close to his chest,  Samajwadi party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav ruled out the possibility of teaming up with any party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls for now and claimed his party would play a crucial role in forming the next government at the Centre.
Speaking to reporters after hosting an Iftar party here, Yadav said, “Why only in Karnataka? We will not have any alliance with anyone till the general elections are over.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, SP leader C.P. Yogeshwar and others at an Iftar party in Bengaluru on Sunday — DC
Proudly pointing to his son, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, the SP chief added: “The Samajwadi Party has lived in the hearts of people here. Gopal Gowda who led this party in the initial days of its struggle, was a good friend of mine. My son studied here and lived here for many years. Therefore, he belongs more to Karnataka than Uttar Pradesh. I am confident we will win more seats here.” 
While responding to a question about senior BJP leader L.K. Advani's statement that the political atmosphere in the country was ideal for the saffron party to get "record breaking results" with the Congress-led UPA government failing to tackle corruption and price rise, Yadav retorted that no government can be formed at the Centre without his party’s support.
On allegations of a spurt in violence, atrocities against women and deterioration in the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said the situation was better as the government had been taking "appropriate action".
“If no action is taken by the government following any incident or criminal offence, it is appropriate to say law and order situation has deteriorated,” he contended.
Yadav also claimed that in a state which has 22 crore population, some stray incidents were blown out of proportion, but in a smaller state it was not so. “You (media) don't question them,” he said angrily.