Shivpal Appoints, Akhilesh Sacks UP Chief Secretary: The Backstory

Deepak Singhal was removed as UP chief secretary to be replaced by senior IAS officer Rahul Bhatnagar.

Shivpal Yadav who had earlier threatened to resign alleging rampant corruption in the Uttar Pradesh government (Photo: The Quint)

The feud within the ruling Yadav clan of Uttar Pradesh seems to be unending. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav fired a fresh salvo on Tuesday, unceremoniously removing the Chief Secretary of the state, Deepak Singhal. It is an open secret in the state that Singhal is a loyalist and blue-eyed boy of Akhilesh’s uncle and powerful minister Shivpal Yadav.

As it is, things were not well within the Yadav family. And with the exit of Deepak Singhal from the coveted post, swords within the family are soon expected to be out again.

Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav Strips Uncle Shivpal Off Key Ministerial Charges

Singhal, the most trusted lieutenant in the team of Shivpal Yadav, was made Principal Secretary (Irrigation), a portfolio Shivpal holds, since the Samajwadi government was made in the state in 2012. For a brief while, Singhal was shifted to the home department in the same capacity, but was brought back by Shivpal to the irrigation department.

Singhal, a 1982 IAS batch, is the senior most civil servant in the state. He has been replaced by Principal Secretary (Finance) Rahul Bhatnagar. Interestingly, Singhal had a very brief stint as Chief Secretary - 6 July to 13 September and his removal has stunned the bureaucracy of the state into shocking silence.

Sources within the Samajwadi Party say that CM Akhilesh was not convinced with the choice of Deepak Singhal as the new chief secretary of the state and had to yield as he was convinced by his father and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, with the aim to placate an angry Shivpal.

Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. (Photo: PTI)

The family feud had started with the announcement of the merger of Quami Ekta Dal of notorious don Mukhtar Ansari, into the Samajwadi Party and this was the brainchild of none other than Shivpal Yadav. Akhilesh Yadav did not think twice before ridiculing this exercise and even expelled old time party leader Balram Singh Yadav playing a crucial part in this exercise.

Shivpal went into Kop Bhawan and Mulayam Singh had to intervene. The merger was put on hold and later, Balram Singh Yadav was re-inducted in the cabinet. But by this time, cold war had started between uncle Shivpal and nephew Akhilesh. While the re-entrant in the party, Amar Singh was seen openly siding with Shivpal, another uncle of Ahkilesh, Professor Ram Gopal Yadav was standing strong with the chief minister.

Party sources say that Akhilesh Yadav was averse to making Singhal the chief secretary and it was because of constant persuation and coaxing by Mulayam and his coterie of bureaucrats, Ahkilesh finally obliged. But the trigger came when Deepak Singhal came to New Delhi last Sunday to attend a party hosted by Amar Singh. This was enough to infuriate Ahkilesh and issue his marching orders.

The party minority voice Mohd Azam Khan is already miffed with the leadership for giving re-entry to his arch rival Amar Singh and nominating him to the Rajya Sabha. Samajwadi Party seems to be a totally divided force at this time.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (extreme right) and SP Senior Leader Azam Khan (second from left) with the mother (extreme left) and brother (second from right) of Mohammad Akhlaq at his residence in Lucknow on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)

Actions and parallel reactions have, in the recent past, become a fashion of sorts within the Samajwadi Party which would be facing the litmus test of polls in the state barely a few months later. And one fact which cannot be ignored is that the party is bound to pay dearly during the elections because of this infighting which is very much noticeable in the public eye.

(The writer is a freelance journalist. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)