For the Congress, there is no end to this political drama.
"The drama will continue. He (Mulayam) is playing the bigger game," political commentator N. Bhaskara Rao told IANS.
According to Rao, with both the national parties - the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party - finding it difficult to inspire the voters, there is an opportunity for Mulayam Singh to make a dent on the national political scene in line with his ambitions.
Also, the other two main contenders for the Third Front's prime ministerial nominee - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithha - are busy managing their states.
"Mulayam has a lot of time as he is not directly responsible for running the state. But both Nitish and Jayalalithaa have to manage their states," said Rao.
According to Rao, Mulayam is also pitching for a national role for himself as he knows that among other possible contenders, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar is not keeping a good health, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is not in the reckoning and his bete noir in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, is lying low.
According to experts, Mulayam's calculation is to get around half of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 to have an upper hand in case a coalition of regional parties is in a position to form a government at the centre.
"He is pressing for early polls to beat the growing anti-incumbency in UP, where the law and order situation is a major concern," said Hasan.
