Another minister bites the dust in SP power struggle
Akhilesh loyalist Pawan Pandey gets the boot for indiscipline
Speculation swirled in Uttar Pradesh as chief minister Akhilesh Yadav made a sudden visit to the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday after another of his loyalists was sacked from the Samajwadi Party amid a bitter power struggle within the ruling family.
Before his meeting with governor Ram Naik, Akhilesh met party legislators and seniors to finalise details of his proposed yatra, or march, to kick off the party’s poll campaign from November 3. The politicallycrucial state votes for a new assembly next year.
The Samajwadi Party expelled minister of state for forests Pawan Pandey for slapping Ashu Malik, a member of the legislative council and a close aide of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
State party chief Shivpal Yadav, who is locked in a power tussle with nephew Akhilesh, announced the disciplinary action against Pandey, known to be a staunch supporter of the chief minister.
Pandey said he would remain a loyal soldier and continue to work for the party.
Raj Bhavan officials dismissed speculation that the chief minister called on Naik to dismiss the government. They called the visit a courtesy call, which lasted more than 30 minutes.
The chief minister discussed the current political situation with the governor and how the departments are functioning, sources said. The governor told reporters in Etawah on Tuesday that he was watching closely the political developments in the state.
Akhilesh gave a letter of support from 205 legislators of his party to Naik, an agency report said. The move is seen as an attempt to pre-empt any move to upstage him. There was no discussion on the expansion of cabinet in view of the sacking of four ministers – Shivpal, Om Prakash Singh, Narad Rai and Shadab Fatima, officials said.
Any rapprochement between Shivpal and Akhilesh looks unlikely at the moment. The uncle vacated his official home in Lucknow on Wednesday. Akhilesh is set to go solo on his state-wide yatra on a rath or chariot, a specially-designed bus billed as the best and the most hi-tech ever used in a poll campaign in India.
At the root of the acrimony between Shivpal and Akhilesh is who is going to be the Samajwadi Party’s candidate for the chief minister’s post in the 2017 polls. Party chief Mulayam has sided with brother Shivpal, but has not given any hints about the next CM.