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SJP merges with SP

Photo: Subir Roy

New equation: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav with Neeraj Shekhar (centre) of the Samajwadi Janata Party after the merger of the two parties on Tuesday.

LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Janata Party, founded by former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar merged with the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday with the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and SP president, Mulayam Singh, calling upon the Socialists to come together on a common platform.

Addressing a function to mark the merger, Mr. Singh praised the former Prime Minister’s contributions and said Chandra Shekhar was a bench mark in politics, along with Ram Manohar Lohia. Mr. Singh said Value Added Tax (VAT) and farmers’ problems would constitute the party’s election plank in next year’s Lok Sabha polls. Blaming the price rise on VAT, the SP president said the new tax regime has affected the weavers and traders the most.

The Samajwadi Janata Party was formed by Mr. Shekhar in 1990-91 and for over a decade the party was synonymous only with the former PM, who was a Member of Parliament from Ballia in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Shekhar’s son, Neeraj Shekhar, was fielded by the Samajwadi Party in the Ballia Lok Sabha by-election held in December 2007. The SP candidate won the poll.

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