Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Samajwadi Party tussle” (September 15). Power struggles are passé in India’s hyper-active political arena, but the fight that is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh is a throwback to the medieval times.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is being positioned as the unsoiled practitioner of a new, clean politics, while his uncle, Shivpal Yadav, is an unapologetic patron of the old factional politics, inspired by caste and criminality.
Akhilesh Yadav will have to establish his credentials as a genuine harbinger of new politics. If he is sincere about value-based politics, he can become the axis of a new kind of politics in Uttar Pradesh that rescues the secular formations from relying solely on caste identity to win electoral contests.