The relationship between the UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is reportedly deteriorating.
It seems as though Akhilesh Yadav is revaluating his status as CM, and asking himself if he truly has any power or is merely a pawn in the game.
The popular understanding is that there are 4-and-a-half Chief Ministers in the state.
- Mulayam Singh Yadav, the master with the remote control
- Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle
- Ram Gopal Yadav, yet another uncle
- Azam Khan, an adoptive uncle
- Lastly, Akhilesh Yadav himself, considered half-a-Chief Minister because he is a pawn in the hands of others.
The truth is that each of these men has his own corner of influence. And their personal honour is at stake.
Akhilesh Yadav, wielding his constitutional powers, has in recent times overturned the decisions of some big names in the party, a move which hasn’t gone down well with the top leadership.
The most recent issue involves gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s bid to merge his party Quami Ekta Dal with Samajwadi Party. Akhilesh Yadav was reportedly furious with this decision, and he expelled his father’s close friend, Balram Yadav from the cabinet.
Uncle Shivpal Yadav, irritated with his nephew, officially confirmed at a press conference that the controversial merger had Mulayam Singh Yadav’s full support.
A Family in Chaos
The press conference was followed by utter chaos and internal bickering in the Yadav family and Balram Singh was soon reinstated in the cabinet. A sulking Shivpal Yadav has distanced himself from the drama while relations between father and son continue to worsen.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that the family has seen such feuding after the appointment of Akhilesh Yadav as CM. In the 2012 assembly elections, notorious politician DP Yadav managed to secure a BSP ticket and had almost worked his way into the party’s inner circles.
Akhilesh Yadav vehemently opposed his father’s decision, resulting in DP Yadav being dropped by the party.
Mulayam Singh Yadav Does Not Take Akhilesh Yadav into His Confidence
In December 2015, Mulayam Singh Yadav expelled two of Akhilesh Yadav’s closest friends, Sunil Singh and Anand Bhadoriya, accusing them of anti-party activities. Akhilesh Yadav had expressed his displeasure freely and publicly and soon, rumours of his father’s disfavour and disregard had spread through the ranks.
Akhilesh and his wife Dimpy Yadav did not attend the Saifai Festival, despite being present in Lucknow at the time. Circulating reports claimed that the Chief Minister was upset with his father and had deliberately boycotted this festival, a celebration that had been taking place annually at Mulayam Singh Yadav’s birthplace for close to two decades now.
After a few days, Sunil Singh and Anand Bhadoriya were reinstated into the party. Apparently, Mulayam Singh’s younger brother Shivpal Yadav played a considerable role in smoothing over the tensions between father and son on the point. After this event, both Akhilesh Yadav and his wife were in due attendance at the Saifai Festival.
When Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya was implicated in the murder of Kunda DSP Zia-ul-Haq, Akhilesh Yadav had him expelled from the cabinet. Though he was welcomed back after he received a clean chit from the CBI, he was reinstated in a lower rank.
Has the Father-Son Relationship Been Irrevocably Damaged?
Mulayam Singh Yadav has on several public occasions rebuked Akhilesh Yadav and his minister’s conduct. This was usually perceived as a father’s tough-love advice to a beloved son but recent events cast such behaviour in a different light.
After Akhilesh Yadav’s appointment as Chief Minister in 2012, the opposition had been quick to fire jabs at the BSP about its alleged five CMs and the father-son feud has only provided it with more fodder for verbal volleys.
As for Akhilesh Yadav, with the feud and the bickering, the strained relationships and the power play, all evidence points to this being a summer of great discontent.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)