Summary:
LUCKNOW: Signs of changing times were visible at the Samajwadi Party on Monday afternoon when Akhilesh Yadav's nameplate came up at the party headquarters addressing him as the party's national president. Hours later, the Election Commission recognised him as party chief and also gave him the right to use the party symbol.Akhilesh's nameplate was put right under that of Mulayam Singh Yadav's, in which he is described as party chief too.Sources at the party office revealed there were specific instructions not to remove Mulayam's nameplate from its original place. But Shivpal stayed back and Mulayam returned to the party office alone.While Mulayam was ad dressing party workers, he was joined by Naresh Uttam who was appointed as the new state party chief by Akhilesh in place of Shivpal.In the evening, as the news about the EC verdict broke, thousands of SP workers reached the party office to celebrate with firecrackers. It was not just about the nameplate. Mulayam's younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, who has stood by the SP founder's side all through the family feud, chose to stay away from the party headquarters when the SP patriarch addressed party workers, hours before the EC verdict.When Mulayam came to know that Shivpal had yet to reach the party office, he went down to Shivpal's residence to bring him along..