Family drama: Uncle Shivpal skips Akhilesh's cabinet expansion

Why the squabble intensified

The latest episode in the family drama was scripted around last week's merger of the Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) with the Samajwadi Party. QED is a party of two MLAs - party president Afzal Ansari and his gangster brother Mukhtar Ansari.

Cabinet minister Balram Yadav played intermediary, and a grinning Shivpal welcomed Afzal into SP's fold.

Akhilesh was not amused with the development. In a public statement, he said that Mukhtar Ansari was not welcome in his party. "We don't want such people in the party," he said in the face of strong criticism over the merger.

Akhilesh gave vent to his anger by dropping Balram Yadav from his cabinet.

As talks in political circles veered towards the CM's growing differences with Shivpal, who masterminded the merger, and the situation threatened to go out of hand, party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav stepped in to control the damage. It was left to the party's Central Parliamentary Board to decide on the merger's fate.

With a peeved Akhilesh strongly opposed to the merger, the parliamentary board revoked the decision on the alliance with QED. The decision, however, did not help matters which appeared to have turned worse.

A QED member claimed that the merger had nothing to do with Akhilesh, as it was Mulayam who had asked Afzal to merge his party with the SP. The merger talks were initiated just before the Rajya Sabha elections, in which QED had voted for the SP candidates.

Beyond repair

Shivpal's absence from the swearing-in ceremony implies that the rift in the Yadav clan has widened beyond repair. On one side of the divide are Mulayam, Akhilesh and Ram Gopal, while Shivpal and Amar Singh make up the opposite camp.

SP founder member Azam Khan can be counted in the Akhilesh camp because of his strong dislike for Amar Singh who, incidentally, is known for causing a rift in the Ambani and Bachchan households.

That all was not well in the family first came to be known in December last year, when two Akhilesh loyalists, Sunil Yadav and Anand Bhadauria, were expelled for anti-party activities.

Also read- Civil war in SP: Akhilesh, his uncle, and the three aides he won't let down

An upset Akhilesh chose to stay away from the Saifai Mahotsav for almost a week. Only after he had wangled an assurance on the revocation of the expulsion of his aides did the CM go to the family's ancestral village.

Difference in mindset

The next round of showdowns between Akhilesh and his uncle is due soon. With chief secretary Alok Ranjan retiring on 30 June, a very corrupt IAS officer close to Shivpal was being tipped to succeed him.

The CM is not in favour of this, and it would be interesting to see if he has his way in getting a chief secretary of his choice, with the UP Assembly elections just months away.

Of late, Akhilesh has been trying to project a pro-development image. He has said that if the party workers carry out their responsibilities, there would be no need for an alliance with other parties.

Senior leaders of the party, who have a different mindset, would not mind taking the help of criminals of all shades in order to retain power. The strategy does not cut it with Akhilesh, who will again be projected as the CM candidate.

Edited by Shreyas Sharma

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