The two-day national convention of Samajwadi Party at Agra from October 4 will decide whether the bickering withing SP's first family would continue or the party would focus on its substantive agenda of taking on its prime adversary - the Bhartiya Janata Party.

"Time is running out for SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. He has to decide who is his prime enemy, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, whom he toppled from the post of national president, his uncle  Shivpal Yadav whom he pushed to the margins or Prime Minister Narendra Modi,’’ quipped a senior SP leader, who is set to stay away from the Agra convention. 

Though Akhilesh met his father on Friday and invited him for the Agra convention, the SP chief remains in a state of war with the family ever since he nudged his father to the top post of SP on January 1.

The issue rattling the rank and file of the SP is not the feud within the first family but the lack of concern within the first family to resolve the dispute and end the deadlock. 

"The feud in SP's first family is a festering wound. Akhilesh Yadav seems to be little concerned and is confident that he can steer the party to the 2019 lok Sabha poll without setting his house in order. The intra-paryt feud has already caused immense damage to the party in 2017 Assembly poll and continues to erode the credibility and image of the party,’’ said the SP leader.

The common refrain among SP leaders is that the onus for ending the stalemate in SP's first family lies on Akhilesh Yadav not on Mulayam Singh or his brother Shivpal Yadav. "Mulayam Singh Singh and Shivpal Yadav are past their prime and they are not the future of the party. Thir dormant presence in the SP or floating of a new party could damage Akhilesh as he is the future of the party. The stakes for Akhilesh Yadav are high and hence it’s his responsibility to end the deadlock. For this, he should gather courage and conviction and show sagacity to settle the family dispute,’’ said the SP leader.

"Mulayam Singh has not forgotten the humiliation heaped on him by his son on January 1 this year when Akhilesh took over as SP national president. The SP patron has not given up and keeps on reminding Akhilesh about his promise of handing over party reins after the Assembly poll,’’ said the SP leader.

Referring to the September 25 press conference by Mulayam Singh, the SP leader said that the SP patron conveyed a categorical message to Akhilesh. 

"Mulayam blessed his son Akhilesh not the SP president. He also reminded his son about the comment made by PM Narendra Modi during Assembly poll campaign that one who was not loyal to his father could never be loyal to anybody. To further press his point Mulayam said that he was not in agreement with the political decisions taken by Akhilesh as the SP chief,’’ pointed out the SP leader. 

``Mulayam also reiterated that Akhilesh had promised to hand over the party reins after Assembly poll - a promise which he failed to honour and those who dwere not true to their words never gain credibility or success in public life,’’ he said.

Generally speaking, no SP leader was willing to speak on record as the matter concerned the party's first family. Party leaders were almost unanimous that too much water has flown down the Ganges since Akhilesh took over as SP president. 

``It would be more than a miracle if Akhilesh agrees to abdicate the party throne for his father Mulayam Singh,’’ commented a SP leader.