Akhilesh aide sacked, SP feud deepens
LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Saturday expelled a leader close to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for anti-party activities, signalling a hardening of stand against rebels amid a raging power struggle in the ruling family in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
The party’s state chief Shivpal Yadav also appointed new office-bearers for its youth and other frontal organisations, potentially closing the door on seven Akhilesh loyalists who headed these outfits before they were expelled last month.
Saturday’s fast-paced developments indicated that the senior leadership of the party could be tilting towards Shivpal, leaving Akhilesh isolated in the run-up to next year’s assembly polls and deepening prospects of a split in the party. Before the decisions were announced, several party veterans including Kiranmoy Nanda, Naresh Agarwal and Beni Prasad Verma met SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and suggested action against those guilty of indiscipline and antiparty acts.
CONTINUED ON
PAGE 6