SP may withdraw plea seeking Shivpal’s disqualification
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday dropped hints that his party might withdraw its plea to UP legislative assembly seeking Jaswantnagar MLA Shivpal Yadav. Shivpal Yadav heads the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) and is Akhilesh’s uncle.
Without taking his sister-inlaw Aparna Yadav’s name, Akhilesh said that anyone in the family was free to go and contest elsewhere. There are speculations in the political circles that Aparna might contest the forthcoming Lucknow Cantt assembly by-polls on BJP ticket.
Akhilesh’s hint on Shivpal came while responding to questions by newspersons on why the party had moved petition only against Shivpal and not against Nitin Aggarwal (SP MLA from Hardoi who is in BJP) or likes of Amar Singh. Avoiding taking Shivpal’s name or addressing him as ‘Chacha’, Akhilesh said: “We would withdraw petitions against all”.
Akhilesh was addressing a press conference to announce the joining of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Uttar Pradesh president Dayaram Pal and other BSP leaders.
Shivpal formed Pragatisheel
Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) in October last year after a prolonged ‘Yadav family feud’ over the control of the party. Last fortnight, the SP had moved a petition seeking cancellation of his UP assembly membership under ‘disqualification on ground of defection rules, 1987’.
This is the first time the Samajwadi Part has sought cancellation of membership of any of its legislators who either quit the party or was expelled from it.
Responding to the questions on the Yadav family feud, Akhilesh said: “We don’t have ‘parivarvaad’ (dynastic), we have ‘loktantra’ (democracy) in our family. And to increase our family, we are ready to embrace anyone who wishes to join the party. We will embrace them with no questions asked. We will expand our family for 2022 assembly polls.”
When asked about speculations on Aparna Yadav joining BJP to contest elections, Akhilesh said: “Anyone in the family can go anywhere.” Aparna Yadav had contested and lost the Lucknow Cantt seat in 2017 on SP ticket.
Akhilesh evaded reply on any possibility of a return of Shivpal to the SP. He repeatedly said: “The family was always one.”
Last week Shivpal Yadav had said that he had quit the party last year and now will reply to the petition in the Vidhan Sabha. On Wednesday in Etawah, Shivpal had said he would contest the bypolls from Jaswantnagar if his membership was cancelled.
In the past, even though the SP had expelled its then senior leader Amar Singh (who was Rajya Sabha MP), Jaya Prada (the then Samajwadi Party Rampur MP) or Azam Khan (the then Rampur MLA), it didn’t seek their disqualification.