Delhi:There goes a saying that when Uncle and Nephew are a team, even a mob can’t beat them. But if the stories emerging from Uttar Pradesh are anything to go by, then they are revealing a different pattern altogether.
In wake of recent events where SP Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has dethroned his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as state party president and replaced him with Shivpal Yadav, the proverbial uncle-nephew alliance seems to be split apart and up in arms against each other. The mainstream media is terming it as a big altercation in Yadav clan.
Akhilesh and Shivpal locked horns on the issue of merger of Qaumi Ekta Dal led by Mukhtar Ansari. Shivpal was in favor of the merger of small party in Samajwadi Party but Akhilesh was not on the same page. Akhilesh had been trying hard to present himself as an honest minister, thus he was reluctant for the merger as Mukhtar Ansari is a tainted politician.
When Akhilesh sacked two of his ministers Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and Raj Kishore Singh, the cold war between uncle and nephew intensified. During his tenure, Akhilesh Yadav has sacked as many as 18 ministers from the cabinet. But Gayatri Prasad Prajapati- Raj Kishore Singh were close to Shivpal. Mulyam Singh Yadav sneaked in and rollbacked the sacking of five ministers. It was also believed the rift between uncle and nephew is scripted to change the old horses of the party.
However, opposition parties are terming it as a drama. Mayawati had done the same thing and sacked 10 of her ministers to prove herself honest, but in spite of it failed to retain the chair. Akhilesh still has his nose ahead as he has sacked 18 ministers out of which 5 were called back.
Experts maintain that Akhilesh not only wants to create an honest image for himself, but he also wants to do away with the tag of a dummy Chief Minister. For a long time it is believed that SP Supremo Mulayam, Shivpal Yadav and Azam Khan are real chief ministers and Akhilesh is just a puppet. Thus the tussle of uncle and nephew is also being considered a political punch. It is a well known fact that Mulayam calls all the shots in SP, so many are wondering that how the rift in Yadav family came out in open.
In a bid to bring equilibrium of power, Mulayam Singh Yadav had recently appointed Shiv Pal Singh Yadav as president of State unit. While Uncle had to take care of party cadre, nephew’s job was to control the administration. Both are ambitious politicians, but the confrontation of uncle and nephew is beyond understanding. Hence the tussle is being termed as politically planted.
Mulayam to act as a pacifier?
As per the sources, Mulayam will soon try to pacify uncle and nephew. In a bid to do the same, both were invited by the party Supremo to Delhi. While Shivpal went to Delhi, Akhilesh has not visited Delhi yet. It is believed that Akhilesh is miffed over the party stalwarts and not ready to negotiate with anyone.
The other unconfirmed news is that Mulayam Singh Yadav is losing grip over the party. If this is true, the rift between uncle and nephew can be expected to further intensify in the coming days. The recent statement of Akhilesh backs this speculation. Akhilesh said that it is not a fight of the family, but of the government. He also said that who will deny Netaji’s (Mulayam)’s order. Future will tell whether it is a rift or a drama, but surely it will affect the fate of Samajwadi Party in upcoming state assembly elections.