After a gap of five years, the first family of the Samajwadi Party led by Mulayam Singh Yadav came together to celebrate Holi at their native town Saifai in Etawah and extended greetings to the locals and party workers.
After tensions between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav in 2016, separate Holi festivities used to be organised.
As the two leaders buried the hatchet ahead of the just-concluded assembly polls, the entire family came together to celebrate Holi. A huge pandal was erected for the festival at the Saifai festival grounds and the family played Holi with flowers.
Besides Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav were seen sitting together on the dais.
On reaching the dais, Shivpal Yadav touched the feet of Ram Gopal and sought his blessings. Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav and Shivpal Singh Yadav had reached Saifai on Thursday to participate in the Holi celebrations.
Meanwhile, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday claimed that the Samajwadi Party-led alliance lost the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly elections because of “dishonesty and cunningness” of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Shivpal Yadav contested the election on Samajwadi Party symbol and won from Jaswantnagar assembly seat in Etwah district.
He said the SP led alliance had the backing of the people and it would face the challenges firmly.
"Our alliance seats and vote percentage have increased in the elections. The people of the state did not defeat the SP. It was because of BJP's dishonesty and cunningness that we lost," Shivpal Yadav, who has been elected from his traditional Jaswantnagar constituency, told newspersons.
“Some ministers in the BJP-led Central government as well as many officers of the state government are involved in ‘this design of the BJP;,” he alleged, and added, “The people of the state are with us, so we are not afraid.”