Uttar Pradesh’s Game of Thrones: The SP’s First Family’s Saga

All is not well within the SP’s first family. Who’s on which side? How are they related? We attempt to answer.

That all wasn’t well in the Samajwadi Party’s first family came to light in July this year, over the issue of the party’s merger with the Quami Ekta Dal. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav opposed the merger, defying his father, national party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his uncle, Shivpal Yadav.

In August, lawlessness and increased incidents of land-grabbing in the state instigated Shivpal Yadav to threaten to quit the party. Mulayam Singh attacked Akhilesh, accusing the latter’s ministers of corruption. Akhilesh retaliated; firing two senior ministers close to Mulayam Singh, who were accused in land grafting cases. Mulayam had his revenge; Shivpal replaced Akhilesh as state party chief.

Battle Lines Drawn: Akhilesh vs Shivpal

Battle-lines were drawn within the party: Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal were pitted against each other. Once Shivpal was appointed party chief, Akhilesh stripped Shivpal of several of his plum portfolios, and finally on Sunday, sacked the latter from his cabinet, ostensibly for being an Amar Singh loyalist. To complicate matters further, Akhilesh’s closest aide and party MLA Udayveer Singh wrote to Mulayam saying that Akhilesh ought to be state chief, incurring the party supremo’s wrath as a consequence. Mulayam gave Udayveer Singh the boot, making clear that his allegiances were not with his son.

Adding fuel to fire, party secretary and Mulayam’s cousin, Ram Gopal Yadav wrote a rousing letter to the latter, mentioning that only Akhilesh could win the 2017 state assembly elections. Earlier today, Shivpal Yadav announced in a press conference that Ram Gopal Yadav had been sacked from the party.

Akhilesh’s miseries are compounded by the fact that his step-mother and Shivpal Yadav are on the same side (Udayveer Singh accused Shivpal of being her mouthpiece in his letter to Mulayam) and the fact that his sister-in-law, Aparna Bisht, who will also contest in the election, is not an ally.

Akhilesh Looks to Form Mahagathbandhan

The rift in the party has not only pitted family members against each other, but has divided the opinion and allegiances of a number of senior party leaders as well. Azam Khan downplayed the consequences of Akhilesh sacking Shivpal and said that it was “the Chief Minister’s right.” He did add, however, that there were no talks of a split within the party. Mulayam’s aides including Ram Naresh Agarwal, Beni Prasad Verma, Kiranmoy Nanda and Reoti Raman Singh called upon the party chief, trying to heal the rift.

However, despite their best efforts, it is unlikely that they will be successful. In the last few days, the rift seems to have widened beyond repair and there is talk that a split is imminent. A split may spell disaster for the party, which will contest in the state assembly polls next year. Rumour has it that an Akhilesh-led political outfit will form a mahagathbandhan, similar to the one that contested and won the elections in Bihar. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) stands to gain from the SP’s loss and will, along with the BJP, be watching the proceedings with some satisfaction.