Amid Simmering Tension, Akhilesh, Shivpal Deny Rift Within Party

The comment comes after UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav stripped his uncle Shivpal of key ministries on Tuesday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav stripped his uncle Shivpal of plum portfolios on Tuesday. (Photo: The Quint)

Speaking to the media, Samajwadi Party’s leader Shivpal Yadav asserted late on Wednesday that all is well within the party after he revealed that he received directions from Mulayam Singh Yadav in a four hour long meet earlier in the day.

Neither I nor Netaji (Mulayam) is angry. We all are happy... There are no differences... Netaji has decided to appoint me as the party’s state unit chief. My role is to bring back SP to power in next polls. I will fulfil my responsibility... I will not resign... I am still part of the cabinet.

Shivpal Yadav, Leader, Samajwadi Party

However, away from the gaze of the camera, the crisis in the party refuses to die down as reports suggest he told Mulayam of his displeasure at being painted as a villain despite only following the party supremo’s orders.

Sources close to Shivpal Yadav said he gave examples of his conduct as a senior minister in the Akhilesh government, when he never publicly opposed the decisions taken by Akhilesh or Mulayam even though he may have expressed difference of opinion to them in private.

Shivpal Gets Assurances to Carry Out Neta Ji’s Orders

Shivpal Yadav reached Delhi after receiving a summon from the party patriarch, Mulayam Singh Yadav, in order to find a solution to the brewing problem ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections in 2017.

Shivpal is close to Mulayam, and believed to be a popular figure among workers and the old guard in the party. Reports suggest that the leader, expressing displeasure at being stripped of crucial ministries, has threatened to quit the party.

However, he is expected to stay on after being given assurances by Neta Ji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) that he will remain the party’s UP Chief, and will be allowed to choose candidates for ticket nomination in the upcoming elections.

Akhilesh on the other hand has been assured that his authority will not be undermined and a post of national working committee president will be created for the young leader, reports CNNNews18.

Final Decision to be Taken By Neta Ji

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday quelled talks of a family feud a day after he stripped his uncle Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios, instead describing the tussle as a “fight within the government”.

Akhilesh echoed his uncle’s statement made on Wednesday that any major party decision would be taken only by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

This is not a family fight, it’s a fight within the government. If people from outside the family start intervening in our matters, how will the <i>sarkar</i> function? Everyone listens to <i>Netaji </i> in our family. Some decisions were taken by him, while some were taken by me.

Shivpal also said that he will consult Mulayam before taking any decision about his future in the ruling Samajwadi Party.

Shivpal has lost key portfolios – including revenue, Irrigation and PWD – baring the civil war brewing in the Yadav clan.

Will go to Delhi and speak to <i>Netaji</i> there. Will not decide anything until I speak to him.

Shivpal Yadav, SP leader&nbsp;

While the Irrigation ministry was handed over to Awadhesh Prasad and Revenue to Balram Yadav, Akhilesh kept the PWD portfolio with himself.

The move came hours after Shivpal replaced his nephew as the party’s state unit chief.

Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav. (Photo: Reuters) 

Not an Outsider in the Party: Amar Singh

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP, Amar Singh has said that he is no way to blame for the feud within the party. He further asserted that there is no trouble within the party. He said:

Akhilesh Yadav is like a son to me and he did not call me an outsider...If Mulayam Singh<i>ji</i> says I’m the culprit, i’ll accept it.

Amar Singh, Leader, Samajwadi Party

Chacha-Bhatija Tussle Out in The Open

Sharp differences in the Yadav family came out into the open after Akhilesh shunted out state chief secretary Deepak Singhal, considered close to Shivpal, barely two months after his appointment. 

“Singhal has been removed as Chief Secretary and put on the waiting list. In his place, Principal Secretary (Finance) Rahul Bhatnagar has been made the new Chief Secretary,” an official spokesman had said then.

No official reason was given for the move. However, party insiders had said that the Chief Minister was not happy with Singhal attending a dinner hosted by SP parliamentarian Amar Singh, which Akhilesh had skipped.

Mulayam and some other top party leaders were present at the dinner.

Differences between Akhilesh and Shivpal have been reported over several issues. These include selection of a successor to state chief secretary Alok Ranjan and Qaumi Ekta Dal’s merger with SP.

Shivpal was said to have shepherded the merger of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s QED with the Samajwadi Party.

It was Singhal’s exit that set off a chain of developments that saw Mulayam ousting his son as state party boss and replacing him with Shivpal.

In retaliation, Akhilesh clipped his uncle’s wings by stripping him of the portfolios.

Also Read: How the Yadav Family Feud Led to UP’s Bureaucratic Change of Guard

Hours after Singhal was eased out, Mulayam’s cousin and SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav wrote to Shivpal saying:

SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav has appointed you as the President of the Uttar Pradesh unit. It is hoped that with your hard work, you will further strengthen the party.

A copy of the letter was also marked to Akhilesh Yadav.

(With inputs from PTI.)