Amar SiNgh iS BaCk

Why did Mulayam Singh Yadav back brother Shivpal over son Akhilesh in the family feud that spilled onto prime time TV last week? One reason for this is that with Amar Singh behind him, Shivpal was flexing his muscle and threatened to split the party. There was also some talk of them tying up with the BJP in a “friendly fight” arrangement. Interestingly, the day Mulayam threw his weight behind Shivpal, both Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were in Lucknow, albeit for their own party work. Interestingly, the break point too came after Amar Singh hosted a party in the capital’s Ashoka Hotel for Subroto Roy Sahara and this was attended by Shivpal, Mulayam, the sacked and now reinstated minister Gayatri Prajapati and the sacked Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal. It was this show of strength that got Akhilesh’s goat for he was the only one who stayed away from the party. Well, maybe now he has got the message: Amar Singh is well and truly back. And he will just have to deal with it.