The Samajwadi Party, which is gearing up for the Uttar Pradesh elections in a few month, celebrated its patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav's 83rd birthday with much pomp and show.
The main function at the party office in Lucknow saw a sea of SP supporters in a show of strength ahead of the polls.
Mulayam Singh Yadav was facilitated and presented with a 83 kg laddoo by the party cadres in the presence of his son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The party's show of strength and unity was, however, marred by the absence of Mulayam's younger brother Shivpal Yadav, who has floated his own political party over differences with Akhilesh.
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Shivpal held parallel birthday celebrations for Mulayam at the leader's hometown Saifai by organising a dangal. Mulayam Singh had set out to be a wrestler before joining politics.
Akhilesh Yadav had stated that he would be joining hands with his uncle on the birthday of the party founder. He had said he would give all respect to Shivpal with whose party he would enter into an alliance for the upcoming assembly elections.