Upset With Akhilesh, Shivpal Yadav in Talks With Congress Over Possible Merger

Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party president and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's uncle, Shivpal Singh Yadav, is presently involved in negotiations with the Congress regarding a possible merger with the party. According to a source in the Congress, Yadav has asked that he be made president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee as a precondition for merging his party. The source revealed that a senior functionary of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee reached out to Shivpal Yadav earlier this month. "We heard he is depressed regarding the state of affairs of the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, especially the role of Akhilesh Yadav. A senior PCC leader reached out to him and that's how this negotiation began," said a source in the Congress.Shivpal Yadav Lends Support to Murmu in Presidential Polls, Blames AkhileshThe Congress high command is keen on getting Shivpal Yadav on board and is actively considering the terms he is offering. However, Congress general secretary incharge for Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is yet to speak to Yadav regarding the proposed merger. "That will happen in the next stage of negotiations, once both sides are on the same page regarding the terms of the merger," said the source.Presently, Shivpal Yadav is PSP's sole MLA in the state Assembly. He won from the Yadav family pocket borough of Jaswantnagar in alliance with the SP.The Congress realises that it can revive in Uttar Pradesh only if it displaces Samajwadi Party as the main Opposition in the state. The party sees bringing Shivpal Yadav in as a step in that direction. "Many core supporters of SP feel that Shivpal Yadav represents the party's ethos better than Akhilesh Yadav. He takes a more clear stand on issues of secularism as well. But his party is not seen as a viable option in UP. If he joins Congress, it would be mutually beneficial," said a Congress functionary in UP. However, there are many who aren't keen on making Shivpal Yadav the PCC president right away. There are mainly two reasons for this. First is the fact that Shivpal Yadav is essentially seen as a leader popular among Yadavs and Muslims only; it won't help Congress win back support among upper castes and Dalits. In fact, sections in the Congress believe that Yadav's entry may alienate a few sections as he was said to have patronised the more aggressive and allegedly lawless strand within the SP but got sidelined as Akhilesh Yadav tried to change the image of the party. "A person who his own party wanted to distance itself from, how can we make him a PCC president on arrival? He can certainly join but giving such a position immediately won't be easy," a leader from UP said. The other concern stems from the fiasco in Punjab, where the party had made a recent entrant like Navjot Singh Sidhu the PCC chief, which alienated many leaders. On his part, Shivpal Yadav is said to be open to an alliance with the Congress as well, in case his demands aren't met. He doesn't have too many options as well, after his recent falling out with Akhilesh Yadav. The BSP has a negative view of him due to past tussles and joining hands with the BJP would require Shivpal Yadav to radically change his secular politics.

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Shivpal Yadav Talking to Congress Over Possible Merger, Wants to be UPCC Chief

Shivpal Yadav is said to have demanded that he be made the UP Congress president.

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Topics: Priyanka Gandhi Samajwadi Party Shivpal Yadav