Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav continues to be in a defiant mood, rejecting efforts of the party elders, including his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, for the patch in the family and mending fences with estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav.
After remaining in political wilderness for over two years, SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav emerged as sheet anchor for Akhilesh Yadav triggering hope of rapproachment between the warring nephew and uncle.
Though Shivpal Yadav’s party Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia(PSPL) did not perform well in the Lok Sabha polls, it dented the Yadav vote share of the SP in more than 20 Lok Sabha seats.
BSP president Mayawati too in her statement recently had said that Mr Shivpal Yadav transferred Yadav vote to BJP, leading to Mahagathban’s loss in the polls. She had further said that dispute within the Yadav family had cost them dearly.
But Mr Akhilesh Yadav has rejected all the efforts by his father Mulayam or other members of the family this week for a solution to end the family dispute and rope in Mr Shivpal Yadav in the party.
Samajwadi Party sources here on Saturday said Mr Akhilesh Yadav has been turning to his father for advice and guidance — something he did not do in the past.
The senior Yadav, to begin with, has asked Mr Akhilesh Yadav to reconnect with non-Yadav leaders in the party and demolish the perception that SP is an all-Yadav party. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav also wants senior leaders in the party to be involved in decision making and has asked Mr Akhilesh Yadav to ensure the return of those leaders who have left the party in the past two years.
Sources said besides his father, Mr Akhilesh Yadav held parleys with large number of the party leaders including those from the old guards. He remains cool to the suggestions for mending fences with his uncle Shivpal Yadav.
After the meetings of Mr Akhilesh Yadav with his father early this week it emerged that meeting of the first family of the party was round the corner in Saifai, the home town of the Yadav clan in Etawah district.
Mr Shivpal Yadav, who launched his own political party Pragatisheel Samajwadi party (Lohia) last year, has refrained from making comments on the proposed meeting.
He, however, said in Etawah on Thursday that he would make statement only after such meeting takes place and so far he has no information about the proposed meeting. Mr Shivpal Yadav had unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha election from Firozabad and he ended up in ensuring the defeat of the Samawjadi Party candidate Akshay Yadav, his nephew.
‘It can no longer be business as usual kind of politics as we have to fight with a party like the BJP whose top leaders and rank and file are committed to 24X 7 electoral politics,’ said a SP MLC who has dashed off a letter to Mr Akhilesh Yadav suggesting immediate corrective measures to be taken for rejuvenating the party.
The MLC said, ‘We heard of an adage that defeat is the best adhesive but the Samajwadi Party president is reluctant to learn from the series of debacles the party faced under his leadership in last five years. SP president Akhilesh Yadav has led the party to third consecutive defeats — in 2014 when he was chief minister the SP ended up with just five Lok Sabha seats, in 2017 UP assembly elections when he became party president, the strength of the party in UP assembly was reduced to 47 seats in the 403-member house. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections despite alliance with the BSP, the party could not add even one seat to its tally of five seats in 2014 Lok sabha polls.’
Much to the embarrassment for the party, Dimple Yadav, wife of SP president and SP chief’s two cousins Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav lost from Badaun and Firozabad Lok sabha seats considered to be safe for the Samajwadi Party. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav won his Mainpuri seat with the lowest margin of his career – 95,000 votes, against the victory margin of 3.64 lakh votes from Mainpuri in 2014 Lok sabha polls.”
