In a major roll-back, the Parliamentary Board of Samajwadi Party scrapped the decision of merger of Mokhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal (QED) with itself and decided to reinduct sacked Secondary Education Minister Balmram Yadav into the cabinet.
Yadav was given the boot by CM Akhilesh Yadav on June 21 for reportedly orchestrating the merger of QED with the SP which was announced by senior leader Shivpal Yadav.
After the Parliamentary Board meet, national spokesman and SP general secretary Ramgopal Yadav said that CM Akhilesh Yadav will embark on a state-wide tour coined `Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra’ to apprise the people of development works and achievements of the government in the last four years.
Ram Gopal Yadav said that the board also authorised party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to reconstitute the national executive.
The board’s decision to scrap the merger of QED with SP is seen as big victory for the Akhilesh Yadav camp within the party fold as he had vehemently opposed the merger ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.
Earlier on Saturday, Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said in a programme, "I have never liked people like Mokhtar Ansari and the ilk and they are never welcome in the Samajwadi Party.’’
"I take my own decisions and I am not dependent on my uncles for important administrative and political decisions. I do not agree with my uncle on the decision to merge the QED with the SP. At the same time, I have their blessings. I consult them and seek their advice on myriad issues and they have stood by me," asserted the Chief Minister.
On June 22, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had announced to convene a meeting of the Parliamentary Board on Saturday to consider contentious issues and hammer out solutions.