AKHILESH MEETS MLAs, SHIVPAL

Defeat seems to be a healer in the Samajwadi Party. Minutes before the SP president Akhilesh Yadav addressed a meeting of the party’s newly elected MLAs, he went into a huddle with senior party leader Mohd Azam Khan and his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav.

Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav chose to remain in Delhi and did not attend the meeting.

Though it was not known what exactly transpired at the meeting, this was the first time Shivpal and Akhilesh met for discussions after the much publicised family feud. The two leaders had not met each other even during the Holi celebrations in their native village, Sefai.

Later, while addressing the newly elected legislators, Mr Akhilesh Yadav asked them not to lose hope after the party’s rout but to prepare for the challenges ahead.

The MLAs, on the other hand, authorised the party president to choose the leader of opposition from among the senior MLAs. Mr Yadav will be meeting the defeated candidates on Saturday to take their feedback regarding factors which led to the party’s defeat.

Mr Akhilesh Yadav has convened the national executive meeting of the Samajwadi Party on March 25 in Lucknow. This will be the first national executive of the party after Mr Akhilesh Yadav became the party chief on January 1 this year.

The national executive will discuss the recent political developments besides will reviewing the reasons behind the debacle in the polls.

Meanwhile, sources said that the issue of EVM tampering was also raised at the Thursday’s meeting.

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