Lucknow, April 9 : 'The controversy is being unnecessarily generated by our rivals. It is for the party and the people to decide who will contest the Budaun seat. I have been named as a candidate and as long as the party does not change its mind, I am contesting the seat,' said senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Upset over reports of a 'tussle' between him and his son Aditya Yadav over the Budaun seat, Shivpal told IANS on Tuesday, 'For us, every seat is a family seat ' whether it is Budaun, Azamgarh, Mainpuri or Kannauj. There is no tussle whatsoever. Some people wanted Aditya to contest from Budaun and sent a letter to the party president which triggered off speculations.'

Shivpal Yadav vehemently denied talks that Budaun was no longer 'safe' for the family after senior leaders like former MP Saleem Sherwani and former MLA Abid Raza quit the party.

'I have excellent personal relations with both of them and I am confident of their support. Neither of them is contesting the elections and they will be with us,' he said.

About reports that SP President Akhilesh Yadav was not keen on campaigning for Shivpal in Budaun, the senior leader said, 'We have planned at least two public meetings for him. One will be in Budaun and the other in Gunnaur. The schedule of the two meetings will be decided by the national president in line with his other engagements.'

He further said that though he will be contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the second time, he had been closely and actively associated with the preparations since 1996 when 'Netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) contested his first parliamentary polls from Mainpuri.

'I contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls under extremely odd conditions -- the family feud was at its peak -- as Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) president from Firozabad. This pitch is not new to me. I have seen all 80 Lok Sabha seats and 403 assembly seats individually and personally,' he explained.

Reminiscing about his elder brother Mulayam, Shivpal said. This will be the first Lok Sabha elections when 'Netaji' will not be around. His presence is being missed by all -- the family, party workers and the people. However, this has also strengthened our resolve to battle against divisive forces and uphold his values and ideology.

Asked to comment on the controversy over SP President Akhilesh Yadav's visit to the family of Mukhtar Ansari who died last month, Shivpal said, 'Mukhtar died under suspicious circumstances. He belongs to an illustrious family and we have known them for years. What is wrong in offering condolences to the family? It is shameful how some people do not even know how to respect the dead.'

/IANS