Yet another Akhilesh loyalist sent packing
In a fast-moving saga of developments related to the Samajwadi Party, a member of the Legislative Council Udayveer Singh, considered among the confidants of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was expelled from the party on Saturday after he aired his views favouring Akhilesh and made derogatory statements about party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s second wife.
The action taken by the state party president Shivpal Singh Yadav was followed by the announcement of a new team to head the youth wings of the party. The previous team had been changed about a month ago in the wake of pro-Akhilesh and anti-Mulayam demonstrations held by youth wing leaders and supporters.
Udayveer Singh had on Friday written a letter to Mulayam Singh Yadav, levelling serious allegations against Shivpal Yadav and also against Mulayam''s second wife, claiming that she was responsible for the problems within the family.
Earlier in the day, Shivpal addressed a meeting of the state executive comprising all district party presidents and other special invitees in Lucknow, at which he announced that only Akhilesh would be the Chief Minister in case the Samajwadi Party won the 2017 Assembly election. This was part of the political resolution passed at the meeting. Shivpal Yadav also said that he would be part of the Vikas Yatra planned by Akhilesh Yadav from November 3, and asserted that there would be no compromise with party discipline. The action against Udayveer followed shortly afterwards.
Later in the afternoon, senior SP leaders went to meet Akhilesh at his residence. These leaders included Mata Prasad Pandey, Beni Prasad Verma, Kiranmoy Nanda, Reoti Raman Singh, Naresh Agrawal and Aashu Malik. Incidentally, all these are considered close to Mulayam and although none of them talked to the media either before or after the meeting, it is learnt that the meeting was part of the effort to bridge the differences between father and son over several issues. Beni Prasad Verma, however, simply said that he and other senior leaders were trying their best to sort out everything within the party. These leaders are expected to meet Mulayam on Sunday.
In a related development, expelled SP youth leader Sunil Singh Yadav ''Sajan'' sent out a tweet recalling a message by late socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra that the young people must show the way if the elders lose direction. Around the same time, Udayveer also reacted to his expulsion, saying there was no question for his apologising for his letter, and that he stood by what he had written. With indications that there has been no change in the situation, the next two days are crucial for the future course of the party. Mulayam has already called a meeting of all party legislators, MPs and other office bearers on October 24, but Akhilesh has convened a meeting on October 23 in which all MLAs and MLCs have been invited. Earlier, Akhilesh had announced that he would embark upon his Vikas Yatra on November 3, two days ahead of the grand celebration of party''s silver jubilee scheduled on November 5 at Lucknow.