Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav to hold separate meetings

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh may not have split formally as yet but for all practical purposes, the party is working on two parallel tracks.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav has convened a meeting of newly-elected MLAs on Tuesday while Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has called the party MLAs for a meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Akhilesh Yadav had earlier convened a meeting of newly elected MLAs on March 16 in which he had been authorised to name the leader of Opposition.

According to party sources, Mr Akhilesh Yadav is keen to name former minister Ram Govind Chaudhary as the leader of opposition while Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav wants the post to be given to Mr Shivpal Yadav who has held the position earlier too.

Senior SP leader Mohd Azam Khan is also said to be keen on the post since it would give him an opportunity to take on the BJP in the Vidhan Sabha.

No discussions have yet been held on the reasons for the party’s debacle in the recently concluded elections and it is learnt that some of the legislators had met Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, asking him to take over the party again and check the downslide.

“There is no denying the fact that Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership has come under a cloud and we need to rethink our strategy if we wish to regain lost ground in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, said a newly elected MLA.