The feud in the 'Samajwadi Parivar' of Mulayam Singh Yadav, one of the largest political families of the country, has seemingly taken a decisive turn.
With the formal announcement on Wednesday of the formation of a ‘Samajwadi Secular Morcha' by Mulayam's brother, Shivpal Yadav, also uncle of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the feud in the family has come to a bitter note and could threaten Akhilesh's plans to forge a grand alliance to take on the BJP.
The intense tug of war between uncle and nephew has been no secret.
On May 5 last year, Shivpal had first announced the formation of his secular front, but it did not take off because of Mulayam's intervention. Mulayam had then also assured Shivpal that he would get a “respectable” position in the Samajwadi Party in the near future.
But neither was Shivpal accommodated in the party in a respectable manner nor was Mulayam able to get him an important position.
In recent times, Shivpal was neither being called to Samajwadi Party meetings nor was his advice being taken in important matters.
Shivpal waited for more than an year, but ultimately his patience gave way.
With Shivpal's formal announcement of a new front, the political temperature has gone up in Uttar Pradesh.
Shivpal had indicated that he would bring into his new outfit those people who had been given step-motherly treatment by the party high command (read Akhilesh and his 'coterie'). This statement on prospective members means that disgruntled members of the Samajwadi Party would be the backbone of Shivpal's new front.
Furthermore, Shivpal has made it clear he intends to join hands with smaller parties, which may upset Akhilesh’s outreach plans.
A recent meeting between Shivpal and Om Prakash Rajbhar, a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, can be seen in the light of his utterance on new alliances. Rajbhar is the leader of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, a small party that is an ally of the BJP.
It is a well-known fact that while Shivpal may not have influence over the young Turks of the Samajwadi Party, he does have a solid grip over the party's old guard, with whom he has worked for a considerably long period.
And it is this rapport of Shivpal with the old guard of the Samajwadi Party that may prove detrimental to Akhilesh’s plans of forging a grand alliance with both big and small political outfits in Uttar Pradesh.
