Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his estranged uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) chief Shivpal Yadav buried their five-year long family feud on Thursday and forged an alliance for the forthcoming Assembly polls.
The SP chief reached Shivpal’s residence in the evening and held a closed-door meeting, which lasted for about 40 minutes. Sources said apart from Shivpal and Akhilesh, the former’s son, Aditya Yadav, was also present at the crucial meeting.
Following the meeting, Akhilesh tweeted and confirmed the alliance between the SP and the PSPL. “Met the PSPL chief and confirmed our alliance. The strategy of alliance with smaller parties is strengthening the SP and is taking the SP along with alliance parties towards a historic win,” said Akhilesh.
The decision of seat-sharing, however, has not yet been announced by either of the leaders. During the meeting, hundreds of supporters of both parties gathered outside Shivpal’s residence and raised the slogan “Chacha -Bhatija zindabad’’.
SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was also present at Shivpal’s residence before Akhilesh reached there.
The two parties had indicated that an alliance was on the cards. While Akhilesh had said he would give due honour to his uncle and his partymen, Shivpal has in the past said he is prepared to merge his party with the SP.
The relationship between uncle and nephew had gone sour in 2016, with the sacking of Shivpal from the Cabinet by Akhilesh when he was the Chief Minister. Akhilesh became the SP president in January 2017, in a coup against his father and party founder Mulayam. Later, Shivpal formed the PSPL.
The SP, which came a distant second in the 2017 Assembly polls, has sealed a bouquet of alliances with regional parties and is seen as the most credible challenger to the BJP’s dominance in UP. Most recently, it stitched an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal.