LUCKNOW: As Mulayam Singh Yadav watches the election results with two close workers of Samajwadi Party on Saturday morning at 5, Vikramaditya Marg, the 77-yearold patriarch wastes little time in cutting to the chase. “Gathbandhan nahi hota to Samajwadi ki sarkar banti.Anyone who says I supported the alliance or that I would have campaigned for it is lying. I have publicly opposed the alliance. Congress ko yahan koi pasand nahi karta (No one likes Cong here). What was the need? We came to power in 2012 with full majority,” Mulayam told ET. Yet, for someone whose party has been decimated in a state that has thrice made him the CM, Netaji appears unperturbed.That most of the handful he backed won is no small feat for the wrestler-turned-master politician. “Mere nikat ke saare jeet gaye (All my close men have won).” They include younger brother Shivpal. But what about his son — the CM? On being asked to pinpoint the key factors for SP’s debacle, he points to Shivpal’s recent remark —the arrogance of Akhilesh.“The arrogance of the alliance is responsible for the debacle... I don’t know if you saw a thela-wala’s byte on TV who said I have always voted for SP but not this time as Netaji has been insulted. The message has gone far and wide. What could I have done?”He is quick to hark back to a similar view from Prime Minister Narendra Modi . “In his rally in (the Yadav borough of) Kannauj, the PM had said, ‘Jo ladka apne baap ka nahi ho sakta voh aapka kya hoga’.”On BJP’s landslide victory, the SP patriarch said, “It is a big win —a big day for BJP. I had seen it coming. BSP might have improved its vote share but party wise it is losing grip. Vichitra jeet hai aur haar bhi (It’s a strange win and loss).”The lone exception among the few candidates for whom he campaigned but lost was chhoti bahu Aparna. “Cantt (Cantonment) bekaar seat hai (It’s a bad seat). Look at the demographics.We have won from the seat only once. She was keen to contest and worked hard as well, but in a seat with 3 lakh voters and just 6,000 Yadavs it was very difficult. Chalo koi baat nahi, woh abhi ladki hai… anubhav to ho gaya (It doesn’t matter, she is young. At least she has gained experience.) She ought to have contested from a rural seat where people still have values and a humane approach. They still see one’s bahu as their own daughter.”Asked about wife Sadhna breaking her silence, he clarified that she never made any negative statement about anyone. “Bahut saadgi se usne yeh kaha ke Netaji ka sammaan hona chahiye thaa (She said with all simplicity that Netaji ought to have been respected). Negative nahi boli — ki apmaan nahi karna chahiye thaa.” But what about her statement on his younger son Prateek’s entry into politics?“She feels that he has been left out. Even I wonder that everyone but him got a chance to contest — be it at the level of zila panchayat or MP. There is nothing wrong if he too wants to contest.”NOT TAKING ANYTHING TO HEARTDid he miss not campaigning actively like he always did? “Last time in 2012 I did 300 meetings and rallies. But this time I campaigned only four times. But I have decided not to take anything to heart.”Did the CM call him after the results? “Phone karta rehta hai. Ab kya bolega (what will he say now)?”Just then, the landline rings. A victorious SP MLA has called to seek Netaji’s blessings. “Ab bina der kare kshetra nikal jana aur logon ko dhanyavaad karna (now do not waste time; go to your constituency and thank the people),” he tells the person.On Amar Singh , Mulayam said, “No one should have been insulted. He has reasons to be angry.”As for the future, he says that rather than feeling down and out, it is time to think about tomorrow. “Kaam karna padega. Maine mehnat karke party banayi hai (Work has to be done. I have single-handedly built the party). Haar ka dukh na mana ke, chintan kare toh samjho safalta hi safalta hai jeevan mein (In times of defeat, rather than feeling down, if one introspects, then victory surely comes one’s way in life).” Hinting that the decision in 2012 to make Akhilesh the CM was not the best one, Mulayam says no other politician in the country has handed over command to a son during his lifetime. “It is not just time for change but a makeover,” he said.