Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav managed to enforce a truce between Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, seeking to end the uncle-nephew feud that threatened to split the party and disrupt its p
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav managed to enforce a truce between Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, seeking to end the uncle-nephew feud that threatened to split the party and disrupt its prospects in the state polls in 2017.
He held multiple meetings with both and then met them together in Lucknow on Friday, and later announced that the party — he founded 24 years ago — would not be divided till he was around.
As per the deal, the CM would have a greater say in ticket distribution, while his uncle, who quit all government and party posts on Thursday, would get back his portfolios and would stay SP’s UP chief.
CM Akhilesh Yadav had stripped Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam Singh Yadav replaced him with his uncle as the party’s state chief on Tuesday.
Now, the CM has also been told to reinstate a minister, close to his uncle, he sacked on corruption charges on Monday. The merger of don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s party QED that the CM had opposed is also likely to be formalised now.
But cracks within the family-owned party may remain as the CM will have to make more compromises. As the uncle-nephew duo darted in and out of conference with the patriarch, supporters of Shivpal Yadav — seen as man of the masses — wept and shouted slogans, and those backing the tech-savvy CM mostly fought it out online.
The ageing patriarch told party leaders at SP’s office in Lucknow that he was “in control”, and all differences had been sorted out.
“Till the time I am around, the party will not split,” he said, reminding the leaders of the importance of the upcoming assembly elections.
Disagreements between the CM and his uncle over issues like ticket distribution, appointment of officials and political alliances have often been reported, but this time they led to an open war within the family. At different functions in Lucknow on Friday, both said that all was well.
The chief minister, while speaking at a programme organised by a news channel, said, “I felt bad when I was suddenly removed from the state president’s post. You saw its effect.” The CM said that he told his father that he would do anything to keep him happy, and added that there was no war between him and his uncle.
Without naming party MP Amar Singh, he said, “But we have also decided not to allow any outsider to meddle in our affairs.” Asked whether he was referring to ‘uncle’ Amar Singh as an outsider, the CM said, “I will not call him uncle anymore”. In his address, an emotional Mulayam Singh Yadav also said, “Our own people gave an opportunity to media to create a controversy.”
Shivpal Yadav said the CM was like his son and there was no competition between them. “He needs more experience in politics,” he however said.
