Will be forming a new Samajwadi Secular Morcha for those feeling neglected in the existing Samajwadi Party (SP), Shivpal Yadav, the younger brother of former SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle to current party chief Akhilesh Yadav, announced on Wednesday, 29 August.
The morcha, he said, would remain within the party umbrella.
With this announcement to form a new faction of the party, the apparent “truce” between uncle and nephew, which was seen earlier this year when Shivpal attended a dinner hosted by Akhilesh ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, has come to an end, reported The Indian Express.
"I have now formed this front and I invite all those who are feeling suffocated in the SP to come and join hands with me," he told the media, IANS reported.
He further claimed that he would ensure that work was provided for these people in the morcha.
We will expand the morcha by approaching and uniting different smaller parties and those from other communities and castes being ignored by the party. They will go up to the booth level in districts, strengthen the organisation, and start working for the Lok Sabha elections.Shivpal Yadav, as reported by The Indian Express
Why Didn’t He Launch the Morcha Last Year?
Relations soured between Shivpal and his nephew Akhilesh, after the latter organised a coup of sorts against his father and uncle in the run-up to the UP Assembly elections in 2017.
This was after Mulayam had replaced Akhilesh with Shivpal as the state party chief. However, Akhilesh who was the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh over-ruled the Mulayam-Shivpal order in the elections, following which he was expelled from the party by his father, the report adds.
In retaliation, Akilesh had expelled Shivpal from all key Cabinet positions. Hence, one would wonder why Shivpal waited till now to form this new faction of the party. Speaking about this, Shivpal said that back then he was hopeful of keeping the SP intact.
Aur jab nahi poocha ja raha hai, nahi bulaya ja raha hai, nahi kaam diya ja raha hai, toh maine ek samajwadi secular morcha banaya hai (When I am not being contacted, not being invited and no work is assigned, then I formed the SSP).Shivpal Yadav, as reported by The Indian Express
Unkept Promises
Around four months ago, Shivpal had met SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav in Delhi where it was agreed that the Akhilesh-led and Mulayam and Shivpal-led factions would reconcile and re-unite ahead of 2019 the Lok Sabha elections, the report added.
Following the reconciliation, Shivpal was expected to be given a senior position in the party organisation. “It has been four months, and Shivpal is not even in the party national executive committee headed by his nephew Akhilesh,” an SP leader close to Shivpal told the newspaper.
New Alliances?
Shivpal met with Suhaildev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) President Om Prakash Rajbhar, an ally of the BJP and a minister in the state government, on Tuesday, 28 August. Rajbhar has reportedly been at odds with the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
Shivpal also said that his front would like to assimilate smaller regional forces. Shivpal, who enjoys considerable clout in Mainpuri, Etawah, Etah, Auraiyya, Kannauj and nearby regions, said the secular front would offer a "political alternative" in the state.
Shivpal’s announcement of the Samajwadi Secular Morcha comes at a time when the SP’s proposed alliance with BSP, put forth by Akhilesh, hopes to offer a challenge to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
(With inputs from IANS and The Indian Express)
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