UP political rift: Mulayam replaces Akhilesh with Shivpal as state party chief
New Delhi/Lucknow: It’s an open war in the house of Yadavs. Hours after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sacked UP chief secretary Deepak Singhal on Tuesday, the Samajwadi Party supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav, brought the axe down on his son and removed him from the post of party state unit chief.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav has been replaced by his uncle and bete noire, Shivpal Yadav, who will also be the party’s campaign in-charge. This means that Mr Shivpal Yadav, and not the chief minister, will be the last word in ticket distribution.
Since the announcement of Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s removal was made from Delhi, it’s believed that Amar Singh, who is “not on good terms” with the Chief Minister, was the brain behind the party supremo’s decision. Mr Singhal, the sacked chief secretary, is also learnt to have had a lengthy meeting with Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi.
Mr Singhal was not merely close both to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav but had also crossed the Lakshman rekha by attending a party thrown by Mr Amar Singh on Sunday in Delhi to celebrate a TV moghul’s entry to the Rajya Sabha.
Mulayam Singh Yadav replaces Akhilesh with Shivpal
While Akhilesh stayed away, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav, along with Singhal, attended a party thrown by Amar Singh on Sunday in Delhi to celebrate a TV moghul’s entry to the Rajya Sabha.
By ruthlessly clipping Akhilesh Yadav’s wings the party supremo has sent a clear signal that he is not willing to let his son take complete charge of the party and the affairs of the state.
Over the past few days, it was open defiance against the party supremo by Akhilesh Yadav. On Monday, he sacked two ministers, one of them reportedly close to Mulayam Singh Yadav and his second son (Akhilesh’s step-brother), Pratik Yadav.
And by sacking Singhal, Akhilesh Yadav made it clear that he was in no mood for any compromise in the power game. He sacked the ministers and the chief secretary while his father was in Delhi and without informing or consulting him, sources said.
Apart from Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav and Pratik Yadav, other members of the Yadav clan, including the Chief Minister, were against Amar Singh’s return to the party fold. Amar Singh, who was the general secretary of the party, was expelled following anti-party activities a few years back.
