The battle of supremacy within the Samajwadi party has reached an interesting stage where both the Uncle Shivpal Yadav and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav are waiting for other to strike first. Shivpal Yadav wants to desert the party and Akhilesh wants to throw him out of the party. Shivpal is in the process of forming new party and Akhilesh is waiting for that day. Yet both the factions have refrained so far from firing the salvo. The rift within the first family of the Samajwadi party is growing with each passing day and the prospects of reconciliation are nil. The battle lines have been drawn and none in the family including Akhilesh and his step brother Prateek Yadav who is with Shivpal Yadav are interested in reconciliation. Both the factions are waiting as to who strikes first. Right now the party is busy analysing the causes of the worst ever poll debacle. Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal Yadav has squarely laid the blame at the door of Akhilesh Yadav. Though soon after the assembly election results Mulayam Singh had defended his son Akhilesh saying no individual can be held accountable for the defeat. later he changed stance accused his son of ditching him and his betrayal led to the defeat of the party. Shivpal Yadav also blames Akhilesh for the defeat of the party and had also said the SP lost elections due to the arrogance of Akhilesh. These days both Mulayam and Shivpal tell their respective visitors that the party lost due to myopic political vision of Akhilesh Yadav and he should own the responsibility and hand over the reins of the party to his father Mulayam Singh.
The Akhilesh faction on the other hand is busy painting Shivpal Yadav as the villain and blaming the sabotage by Shivpal faction as the root cause of the party’s debacle. Akhilesh Yadav had also said the party lost due to the sabotage by “our own people’, Now Shivpal Yadav is waiting to be expelled from the party while Akhilesh is waiting for the moment where Shivpal is left with no alternative but to form his own political party. A Senior SP leader said “Akhilesh knows that after losing the elections his stature within the party and state politics has suffered and he is left with only the party and no government so he wants the dissidents to leave the party so he could shape the party as per his aspirations’’. He added `` the family members are neither leaving the party nor allowing Akhilesh the comfort of running the party as per his vision and wisdom’’.
In the meantime Aparna Yadav and Shivpal Yadav along with his son met the chief minister Yogi Aditynath. These meetings led to the speculations that a section of Mulayam’s family could join the BJP. However sources in both the parties say it’s only a speculation. Sources said come what may Shivpal Yadav will never accept Akhilesh as his leader and is waiting for the right signal from his brother Mulayam for floating the new party. Samajwadi party leaders rue that the BJP is the biggest gainer from the ongoing spat within the party and this will be visible during the coming elections of the urban local bodies and the by elections to state assembly and lok Sabha constituencies.