In what could be seen as a major setback to the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), the national general secretary Trilok Tyagi has stepped down from the party with his loyalists amid Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
Justifying his move, the western UP leader claimed he quit the party for its step-motherly treatment towards western Uttar Pradesh. Tyagi, once considered close to Union Minister Ajit Singh, had joined the SP after breaking away from the Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD).
Tyagi, who had contested the parliamentary elections and Assembly elections twice over on the RlD ticket has a sizable support among the Tyagi community dispersed across western UP districts. Tyagi, who had been the national general secretary of the RlD for seven years and national general secretary of the SP, squarely blamed Mulayam Singh Yadav for giving western UP the cold shoulder. Calling him a ‘fake socialist’, Tyagi said it was Mulayam’s myopia that narrowed his focus to just Safai, his native village.
As for the roadmap ahead, Tyagi hinted he may join the RlD. He said he would do whatever it takes to derail Modi’s ascension. The RlD seems like the only viable alternative to the ruling Samajwadi Party in western UP.