Amid conflict with Akhilesh, Shivpal Yadav to form new party after UP polls

Etawah (UP): Amid conflict with Uttar Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s cousin Shivpal Yadav on Tuesday announced his decision to form his own party after the Assembly election results are declared on March 11.

In a speech in Etawah, Shivpal said that the SP’s rise was due to Mulayam Singh Yadav alone, and that he had attempted to convince Akhilesh to let his father remain the SP chief. He said that those who asserted that 'Netaji' was responsible for SP's rise had now publicly insulted him.

In a direct challenge to the UP CM, 61-year-old Shivpal said that in the upcoming elections, he would campaign for those candidates whom Akhilesh had not given a ticket.

Shivpal himself would also be contesting the upcoming polls.

The Election Commission (EC) had earlier this month declared the Akhilesh faction as representing the legitimate Samajwadi Party, and granted it the use of the 'cycle' symbol for the polls. Subsequent meetings between Shivpal and Akhilesh had failed to resolve the rift.

Akhilesh had also rejected a list of 38 candidates presented to him by father Mulayam, and excluded Shivpal from the list of star campaigners for the party