Mayawati urges EC to announce Assembly polls in UP by Feb

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) BSP supremo Mayawati today urgedthe Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in UttarPradesh by February, alleging that the "infighting" within theMulayam Singh Yadav clan will have an adverse effect on thefunctioning of the Samajwadi Party government. She alleged that while BJP and Samajwadi Party want todelay the assembly polls, the Commission should start workingon the schedule and announce the dates in January-February inlarger "public interest". In a statement issued here, the former Uttar PradeshChief Minister said ideally the BJP-led government should haveprepared for imposition of President’s Rule in the state longback due to the prevailing situation there. "But keeping in mind the poor state of the BJP in UP, theCentre has not been able to gather courage to imposePresident’s Rule," she said. Widening cracks in the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP cameto the fore earlier this week. At an Independence Day function in Lucknow on Monday, SPchief Mulayam Singh Yadav caused a flutter by attacking hisson and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for ignoring his uncleShivpal Yadav. Mulayam had threatened to release within eight days alist of people who need to be sacked from the SP unless hisson "mends his ways". PTI NAB IKA RTIKA