Samajwadi Party which is carrying forward the dynast politics in Uttar Pradesh, as said by Rahul Gandhi a few days back is going through rough days. Mulayam Singh Yadav, his brother Shivpal Singh and his son Akhilesh Yadav have been heading SP. It was being speculated that the party founders Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal Yadav would soon be splitting up from SP to form a new party.
However, on Monday morning Mulayam Singh cleared all the rumours saying that no new party is being formed as of now. This statement of his, for the time being, might have cleared the rumours, but saying ‘as of now’ means there can be a possibility if forming one in the future.
The split arose in the party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections earlier this year, when former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav rebelled against his father. Both Mulayam Singh and Shivpal Singh have been the pillars of the party ever since it was established. After Mulayam Singh, Shivpal was regarded as the main head of SP, and with this, the expectation of power also grew which ultimately led to differences between Shivpal, and Akhilesh Yadav.
Ahead of the UP assembly polls, in a hope to win the elections, Shivpal who was seeking to be projected as the Chief Ministerial face, was sidelined by the then CM Akhilesh Yadav. This was the beginning of the rift between the two which more or less even continues today. On Jan 1, 2017, the son removing his father from the post of the party president, himself resumed the chair. This, even more, triggered the cold war going amongst the party members and broadened the gap between them. Akhilesh for rebelling against his father for power and position was termed as Tipu Sultan, who also rebelled against his father for the same.
Akhilesh Yadav had organised a state convention of the party on Saturday which the two senior SP leaders did not attend saying that they were not invited. Other than this the fact that the new posters displayed during the convention also did not feature pictures of Mulayam Singh and Shivpal Singh. This added fuel to the rumours going around that Mulayam Singh is soon splitting up and forming a new party.
According to the sources, both the brothers were planning to form a new party under the banner of Lok Dal. Also just ahead of the state and national convention, Mulayam Singh replaced Ram Gopal, who was a loyal aide of Akhilesh with Shivpal Yadav as the secretary of the Lohia Trust.
It, not just the senior leaders that are hinting a split in the party, but Akhilesh himself has indirectly indicated it many times. The fact that the posters at the convention did not feature Mulayam and Shivpal speaks a lot about the intentions of Akhilesh. Though while addressing at the meeting Akhilesh striking the emotional chord had mentioned his father’s name. He said that “Netaji (Mulayam) is my father and this party (SP) belongs to him. His blessings are with us and we will carry forward his legacy. My father has always been with us and will remain with us.”
But his warning of being aware of the Fake Samajwadis cannot be neglected either. Apparently targeting his uncle Shivpal Singh, Akhilesh while addressing the gathering had said asked the people to be aware of the fake party members. He had also mentioned that it was because of these fake members that the party had faced defeat in the assembly polls, but he would not let that happen again.
As the history of the party goes, in the election commission records the Lok Dal is a registered but unrecognised party. It was founded by socialist leader Charan Singh in 1980 and Mulayam SIngh Yadav was also a founder member. During the assembly elections back then Mulayam opposed the SP-Congress alliance and he was offered the presidentship and the symbol of the party.
As per the latest updates, the former party president Mulayam Singh Yadav in his statement during a press conference denied all the rumours of forming a new party for the time being. He said that since Akhilesh is his son his blessings will always be with him, but he does not agree and support the decisions taken by him. When questioned about what decision of Akhilesh he do not agree with, Mulayam replied that he will soon answer all the questions and reveal everything, when the right time comes.
Mulayam Singh talking to the press also said that Akhilesh had promised to give back the post of the Party President to Mulayam Singh, but he did not keep up his promise. He said that Akhilesh had told he was taking over only for three months and would give back the position after the assembly elections. Mulayam expressing his discontent with his son said that a man who cannot keep to his words can never succeed in future.
Further attacking his son, Mulayam said that nobody will ever believe Akhilesh again. If he can betray his father he can betray anyone and he is not a man to be trusted, he said. He also appealed to the people to extend their support to the Samajwadi Party. Mulayam tactfully avoided the question, when he was asked that why is it that he always criticise Akhilesh Yadav, but ib the reality his son’s power was getting stronger day by day, while Shivpal who claimed to be on Mulayam’s side was losing his charm rapidly.
While addressing the press Mulayam Singh also reminded of the comment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM had also said about Akhilesh Yadav, that “jo beta apne baap ka saga nahe hua, wo kisi ka saga nahe ho sakta” a man who is not loyal to his father can never be loyal to anyone.