After 2 years, Shivpal Yadav finally ready to float his own party

Lucknow: After waiting for exactly two years to build bridges with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav, senior Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav is reportedly ready to float a new political party in Uttar Pradesh.

“Mr Shivpal Yadav has been making efforts to normalise his relationship with Mr Akhilesh Yadav, now Samajwadi Party president, but he does not seem to fit into the new Samajwadi Party. He is preparing to announce his new venture before the Lok Sabha elections”, said a close aide of the SP leader.

Recently, Mr Shivpal Yadav made it clear that while he was on talking terms with the “Samajwadi Party president, there is no communication with my nephew”.

It was on the insistence of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav that Mr Shivpal Yadav attended the birthday celebrations of his estranged cousin Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav in June this year but that too, did not normalise relations in the family.

According to sources, some other senior party leaders who have been “unable to adjust” to the leadership of Mr Akhilesh Yadav, are also in touch with Mr Shivpal Yadav.

“Leaders like Mohd. Azam Khan, Narad Rai, Bhagwati Singh, who once formed the core group within the party, have now been left out in the cold. There has been no effort on the part of Mr Akhilesh Yadav to make these seniors a part of the party. These leaders have also been looking for an alternative and are ready to join hands with Mr Shivpal Yadav”, a source said.

Mr Shivpal Yadav, it may be recalled, has tried to branch out on his own after the assembly elections last year but Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had stopped him from doing so. Relations between Mr Shivpal Yadav and Mr Akhilesh Yadav have been strained since September 2016 when Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav replaced his son Akhilesh as state president and appointed Shivpal in his place. The events finally led to the ouster of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav as national president in a coup of sorts where Mr Akhilesh Yadav was appointed national party president on January 1, 2017.

Mr Akhilesh Yadav and Mr Shivpal Yadav have not been on talking terms ever since. “Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav has now reconciled himself to the fact that a rapprochement between the young and the old leadership of the party is a near impossibility. Senior leaders who still have time on their side, cannot be expected to sit at home. Mr Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, has given enough signals that there is no more for the veterans in his party. In such a situation, the SP seniors have started looking for options”, the leader said. Mr Shivpal Yadav’s meeting with Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader, Om Prakash Rajbhar two months ago in Varanasi and his recent meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath is now being seen as a step in this direction.

Sources said that Mr Shivpal Yadav is still keeping his options open and once he floats his new party, he may ally with either the BJP or the Congress since both the parties are willing to have him as an ally.

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