Etawah, Nov 19 (IANS): Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav on Tuesday said if the family came together on the 81st birthday of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, it would be a biggest gift for him.

Mulayam Singh Yadav will celebrate his 81st birthday on November 22.

Talking to reporters in Etawah on Tuesday, Shivpal said, "I have always favoured unity and if Samajwadi Party and PSPL come together, we can form the next government in Uttar Pradesh. I want to clarify that I am not a candidate for the chief minister's post. My priority is to ensure the victory of Samajwadi ideology because that is what I have imbibed in my training under Netaji (Mulayam)."

He gave a clear indication that the post of chief minister would not be a bone of contention if Akhilesh Yadav agreed for a rapprochement.

Shivpal announced that the birthday of Mulayam Singh would be celebrated in a big way in Sefai, their native village.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday issued a letter to all its district units asking them to celebrate the birthday of Mulayam with seminars and other events.

Shivpal has repeatedly said that he has no qualms about contesting the 2022 elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, but Akhilesh has clearly stated that his party would contest all future elections on its own.

Both Samajwadi Party and the PSPL have faced humiliating defeat in the recent Lok Sabha elections and there is pressure from their cadre to join hands.

Relations between Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav have bene under tremendous strain since 2016 and in 2018, Shivpal floated his own party, PSPL.