A day after resigning from the Uttar Pradesh government and the post of state Samajwadi Party chief, senior party leader Shivpal Yadav put the ball back in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s court.
After a day of hectic political developments Shivpal had sent his resignations to party supremo Mulayam Singh and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav late night on Thursday. Akhilesh refused to accept his uncle’s resignation from the government indicating that he was willing to cede ground in the family power tussle. Meanwhile, Mulayam too declined to accept Shivpal’s resignation from state unit chief’s post.
Addressing his supporters on Friday morning Shivpal once again said that he will abide by Mulayam’s decisions:
“We are with Netaji. My only desire is to make the party stronger. Whatever Netaji decides will be accepted by all”.
What happens next?
Sources reveal that both Shivpal and Akhilesh are keen to settle the leadership issue within the party ahead of the assembly elections in 2017. Shivpal wants both nephew Akhilesh and brother Ram Gopal removed from the party. Mulayam is undecided but accepts that Akhilesh isn’t ready to relent ‘beyond a point’.
One compromise formula also includes making Shivpal’s son the deputy chief minister. Shivpal could also get all his ministerial portfolios back and remain the state unit head. Shivpal could also get a say in allocation of tickets for the 2017 assembly polls. The mechanism will see Shivpal become an ‘equal’ to Akhilesh.
Shivpal forces Mulayam’s hand
On Thursday Shivpal submitted his resignation as ruling Samajwadi Party’s state unit head and as a minister in the cabinet of Akhilesh Yadav.
Shivpal submitted his resignation from the two posts to Mulayam who rushed here from Delhi this evening to douse the flames that threaten to hurt the ruling party in the Assembly polls due early next year, sources said.
Shivpal’s wife Sarla also resigned from the post of District Cooperative Bank Chairperson, Etawah, and son Aditya stepped down from the post of Chairman of Pradeshik Cooperative Federation.
Earlier in the day Mulayam Singh rushed to Lucknow and met Shivpal and Akhilesh separately.
Shivpal later met Akhilesh at the behest of Mulayam separately at Akhilesh’s residence.
Mulayam then also held a closed doors meeting with his son Akhilesh.
Ram Gopal Yadav blames ‘outsider’ Amar Singh for crisis
Mulayam’s cousin and SP’s national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who is seen as backing the Chief Minister, added fuel to the fire by saying Mulayam Singh was wrong to remove Akhilesh as party’s UP president.
He said “differences” had arisen due to some “misunderstanding”, and blamed Amar Singh for the crisis. He also accused Amar Singh of conspiring against Akhilesh and working against the Samajwadi Party.
Amar Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.
Cabinet Minister Azam Khan also took a swipe at his bete-noir Amar Singh, though he refrained from naming him, and said the Chief Minister was right in his assessment.
“If the Chief Minister is saying it, he must be right as he is in a responsible position. We had such apprehensions and that is why we had strongly opposed the return of such people who had a black history. Their only job is to make recordings and blackmail,” he said.
Shivpal, on the other hand, defended Amar Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along.
Asked about other SP leaders’ “unhappiness” with Amar Singh, he said, “Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also.”
The feud had spilled into the open after the Chief Minister stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios two days back, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the party’s state unit chief by his father.
