The chasm between Shivpal Singh Yadav and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav further widened as the hoardings of the estranged uncle’s Samajwadi Secular Morcha (SSM) carrying the picture of Mulayam Singh Yadav were put up before the SP state office on Vikramaditya Marg on Friday.
The hoardings put up close to the residence of Shivpal Yadav also carry the photo of his son Aditya Yadav.
Shivpal is all set to formally launch the Samajwadi Secular Morcha some time in October.
After the failure of the reconciliation efforts within the warring Yadav family of the Samajwadi Party, Shivpal had announced the formation of a break-away group, Samajwadi Secular Morcha, a few days ago.
Shivpal has issued an open invitation to all those feeling victimised and marginalised in the Samajwadi Party to join his morcha.
Following younger brother’s announcement, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had tried to broker truce between his son Akhilesh and Shivpal. However, neither Akhilesh nor Shivpal budged from their positions.
Sources say the SP patriarch’s efforts failed as Shivpal demanded a firm assurance that not just he but his loyalists would also be “accommodated in SP with respect”.
In fact, those who know about the discussion between the brothers, say that Shivpal even requested Mulayam to come and join his secular front. Shivpal offered him the presidentship of his secular morcha, saying he would be “content” with the position of working president. Mulayam, however, turned down the proposal.
Sources in the SP say Akhilesh wants to settle the dispute once for all. A senior leader close to Akhilesh said, “There is no possibility of a truce now as Shivpalji has no remorse and is openly dancing to the tunes of the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
That Shivpal has moved beyond the stage of a truce is clear from what he said on Thursday in Etawah and earlier too. “Our new political party will play a significant role in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. We will play a prominent role in strengthening the secular forces against the BJP,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources in the Shivpal camp said that the groundwork for floating the new party was in full swing. They said names of the office-bearers were being finalised and the spokespersons were likely to be selected soon, followed by district unit chiefs and other office-bearers. “By mid-October, the formalities for registration (of the morcha) will be completed,” they added.
The move of Shivpal to float a new political party will clearly be an advantage to the BJP. The Akhilesh camp is already accusing Shivpal of playing in the hands of the saffron party. However, following instructions from the top and as a political strategy, SP leaders are not reacting to these developments.
The SP is treading cautiously and has decided to ignore Shivpal. The party is of the opinion that discussing Shivpal too much will only give him undue prominence and Akhilesh has chosen not to personally respond against his uncle.
Last time, when he was questioned by the media on Shivpal’s announcement of forming a secular morcha, Akhilesh had only said, “My party and I are only focused on 2019 polls. It is our sole agenda. We will not be diverted by any other issue than polls.”
Meanwhile, two former SP MLAs Raghuraj Singh Shakya from Etawah and Malik Kamal Yusuf from Domariyaganj have announced to join Shivpal’s morcha.