Samajwadi Party war deepens as barbs fly

The feud in Uttar Pradesh’s ruling family showed no signs of ending on Wednesday as chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav briefly tried to downplay their differences but remained combative otherwise.

The CM met his close aides in Lucknow, while his uncle flew to Delhi and met the party chief. All eyes are now on Mulayam Singh Yadav who may reach Lucknow on Friday to speak to his CM son to defuse the crisis.

This comes at a time when the Akhilesh government is facing criticism for poor law and order in the state, and is desperately attempting an image makeover to retain power in next year’s elections.

The BJP made a surprising move on Wednesday by sending a friendly media mogul to the party chief at his Delhi residence to broker peace. The BJP wants the SP to stay strong for division of Muslim votes ahead of the crucial elections, sources said.

An open war broke out on Tuesday when Mulayam Singh Yadav replaced the CM with Shivpal Singh Yadav as SP’s UP chief. The decision was influenced by Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, sources said. The CM — reportedly persuaded by SP chief’s cousin Ram Gopal Yadav — hit back and stripped his uncle of his key ministerial portfolios.

\"After Amar Singh’s intervention a media mogul—recently elected to Rajya Sabha with BJP’s support — met the SP chief and Shivpal Singh Yadav at 16, Asoka Road residence of Netaji in Delhi. He sought to persuade Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav not to precipitate issues, which may compel the CM to split the party,\" a source said.

\"Both I and Netaji (Mulayam) are happy... there are no differences,” Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters after the meeting.

Sources said Mulayam Singh Yadav had made his son UP’s CM against Shivpal Singh Yadav’s wishes. The UP CM has of late been angry with his uncle for promoting his stepbrother Prateek Yadav in party affairs, sources said.

The CM said in Lucknow on Wednesday that people \"outside the government\" were behind the present crisis. He did not name Mr Amar Singh. \"There is no family fight. This is a fight in the government. If people outside the family intervene, how will the government function \", the CM said. \"Everyone abides by what 'Netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) says and will accept his words,” he said.

Before leaving for Delhi to meet the party president, Mr Shivpal Yadav also told reporters in UP’s Saifai that he would abide by any decision that his elder brother Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav took. He refused to confirm or deny his resignation form the council of ministers, but said that he would work to strengthen the party.

The family feud started after the CM sacked on Monday two ministers, considered close to the party chief and Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav. The CM also removed the state chief secretary on Tuesday.

Party sources said the idea behind the party chief’s Tuesday decision was to let the CM campaign with a clean image with more experienced Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav handling the party affairs. But the feud has left party workers confused ahead of the crucial elections, sources said.