In an apparent sign of thaw in the chacha-bhatija relations, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has written a letter to UP Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, requesting a front row seat for Shivpal Singh Yadav.
Though Shivpal is the Samajwadi Party MLA in UP Vidhan Sabha, he has decided to revive his party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL).
On Tuesday, Akhilesh wrote a letter to Mahana, stating that Shivpal is a senior party leader and a five-time SP MLA and should be given a seat in the front row in the opposition benches at Vidhan Sabha.
In the last assembly session, Shivpal was not assigned a seat and was seen sitting in the back benches, whereas Akhilesh, being the leader of the opposition, shared the front row along with other senior leaders of the party.
This letter is being seen as an attempt by Akhilesh to placate his chacha, who alleged after elections that the Samajwadi Party failed to form government in Uttar Pradesh because of Akhilesh’s policies.
He even claimed that Akhilesh did not use the senior leaders and it led to SP’s defeat in the elections. “Through this letter, Akhilesh has expressed concern towards his chacha,” a senior SP leader said.