Following hectic parleys among the Yadav clan members throughout Friday, the first family of Uttar Pradesh sought to bring the curtains down on the four-day imbroglio by seemingly arriving at a Mulayam Singh Yadav-brokered peace deal wherein Shivpal apparently retained his clout both within the State Government as well as the Samajwadi Party.
As per the understanding, Shivpal will continue as the party’s chief in UP and will get back the key portfolios that his nephew and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had divested him of. He will also have a say in deciding party tickets to potential candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls, sources said. However, who will take the final call in deciding party tickets is still unclear.
Moreover, Shivpal’s ally Gayatri Prajapati, who was sacked by Akhilesh from his Cabinet, too would be reinstated, though in a different Ministry, an announcement for which was made by Mulayam itself before the party cadre. There was, however, no mention of the other sacked Minister Raj Kishore Singh.
For his part, Akhilesh will continue to be the head of the party’s Parliamentary Board.
later, flanked by the sacked Mining Minister Prajapati, the SP chief told workers at the lucknow party office, “I have spoken to everybody. There is no dispute between Akhilesh and Shivpal and neither was there any dispute with Ram Gopal. Akhilesh will visit the residence of Shivpal to sort out pending issues pertaining to the Government and the party. It is election time and we should all come together and work so that the party returns to power.”
Praising his brother Shivpal as a hard-working leader Mulayam announced, “Shivpal will continue to function as Minister in the State Government and his old portfolios will be given back. Besides, he will also shoulder the responsibility of the State president of the party.’’ He also asserted, “There can be no division in the party, till I am there.”
later in the evening, the UP CM’s office issued a statement that confirmed the truce. Prajapati will be inducted into the Cabinet and portfolios will be given back to Shivpal, it stated.
The truce, however, appears superficial as Shivpal is said to have refused to give Akhilesh a say in ticket distribution even as he openly defended Amar Singh, the ‘outsider’, against whom the UP CM indicated “action would be taken”.
In an interview to a news channel, Akhilesh was candid when asked why he stripped Shivpal of all portfolios. “Everyone asks me this question but no one asks what I have lost. No one talks about how I should be compensated,” Akhilesh said, adding, “I want … I should also have a say in selection of candidates for the next election. The 2017 polls are my test too. … I know as to who would be a better candidate for a particular seat. Take all posts from me, but give me the right of selection of candidates”.
“This is not a justified claim,” Shivpal retorted when he was told about Akhilesh’s demand. “When I was removed as State president in 2011, I never threw tantrums. That was the time when Mayawati had unleashed the police against SP workers. They were being beaten up. Then I wanted many leaders to get tickets but once I was removed from that post, I lost that right and never questioned Akhilesh’s leadership,” he said.
In the same vein, Shivpal said, “Akhilesh should learn from his elders. He should learn from my experience. Who will be given ticket or not, will be decided by Netaji. Who am I or that matter Akhilesh, to question Netaji’s wisdomIJ”
The chacha and bhatija also continue to be at daggers drawn on the fate of Amar Singh. Shivpal openly backed Singh and took a jibe at Akhilesh’s statement of throwing out an outsider (Amar Singh) from the party for interfering in family matters. “No one will be expelled from the party. All the people have good and bad qualities. We should use good qualities of these people,” said Shivpal.
“Akhilesh is surrounded by Cabinet Ministers who do not work. There are people in Akhilesh’s coterie who are useless. Some of them must be sitting here and sending messages to Akhilesh about what I am saying. Should I remove them too,” the senior leader asked.
Shivpal said Singh was inducted into the party after getting an approval from Netaji. “Similarly, the merger of Qaumi Ekta Dal is being questioned by some leaders. That merger was also approved by Netaji. Are we big enough to question Netaji’s decisions,” he asked.
Incidentally, both chacha and bhatija continued to reiterate that they would abide by Netaji’s directives. Akhilesh even said that he would do whatever Netaji asks him to. “If he asks me to give away the CM’s post, I will happily do so,” the CM said. He, however, said the fight was not within the Yadav family, but was actually for the CM’s chair.
But Shivpal said the CM’s post in UP is very important. “Pride enters the incumbent’s mind. I have seen many Chief Ministers behave differently after becoming the CM,” he said without naming Akhilesh