Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was on Thursday left red-faced after his uncle and Samajwadi Party state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav announced the merger of Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal with the ruling party.
The merger was called off in June due to opposition from Akhilesh Yadav, a few days after it was announced.
Announcing the merger at a press conference in Lucknow today, Shivpal said he had the blessings of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Shivpal, who played a key role in bringing QED and SP together in June, was shunted by his nephew and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for the move. After Akhilesh’s disapproval, party’s Parliamentary Board decided to reject the proposed merger.
Since then, the relationship between nephew and uncle nosedived and an all-out war ensued last month with Akhilesh taking away Shivpal’s ministerial portfolios after he was replaced by the latter as UP SP chief.
Shivpal later resigned, both from the party and the government.
After much deliberation within the party, party supremeo Mulayam Singh Yadav successfully pacified the rift.
However, it did not seem that all was well within the party when Shivpal, as UP party chief, sacked several leaders who sided with Akhilesh in the infighting.
Strong differences in family resurfaced on Monday when Shivpal Singh Yadav snubbed his nephew Akhilesh while distributing tickets for the upcoming assembly polls.
Shivpal yesterday replaced as many as 14 candidates announced earlier and declared a list of seven new candidates for the polls without keeping the CM in the loop.
When Akhilesh was asked about his uncle’s decision, the CM said that he had no information of the announcement of the new candidates or the changes made in the list.
Last month, at the height of the tension in the party, Akhilesh had told India TV that he "should be given a say in ticket distribution for the 2017 Assembly elections."
