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Shivpal, Akhilesh back to where they began. What was the family feud all about?

Atul Chandra | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:47 IST

With Gayatri Prasad Prajapati back as minister, the situation in Uttar Pradesh seems headed for status quo ante. Shivpal Yadav may get his portfolios back, while Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav may again becoming the Samajwadi Party's state president.

After a half-hour meeting with his younger brother Shivpal and son Akhilesh, the SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav announced that frictions do happen in a big family and the trouble in the SP family was now over.

Mulayam indicated that Prajapati will be re-inducted as mining minister. The chief minister, on his part, said at a programme hosted by a TV channel in Lucknow that he was ready to return everything but that he should also be reinstated as the state party president.

Also Read: Shivpal vs Akhilesh vs Mulayam: where will the Samajwadi Party drama lead to?

His statement meant that Shivpal could return as PWD and irrigation minister and the sacking of Prajapati and Raj Kishore Singh, too, could be reversed, so long as Akhilesh remained the party's UP president and, hence, in control of ticket distribution for the impending assembly election.

So far, however, Akhilesh has not approached Governor Ram Naik for time to administer the oath of office to Shivpal, Prajapati and Raj Kishore as ministers. Also, there is no message yet from Mulayam on re-instating Akhilesh as party president.

Shivpal's wife resigned from Cooperative Bank, Etawah, and his son from Provincial Cooperative Federation

What will be the chief minister's stand be if all his decisions are reversed and Shivpal is still retained as the party's state chief? Will he still obey Mulayam, or will it be his turn to throw tantrums like uncle?

Late Thursday night, Shivpal had announced he was quitting the party and Akhilesh's ministry. His son Aditya resigned as chairman of the Provincial Cooperative Federation while Shivpal's wife Sarla Yadav resigned from the chairmanship of Cooperative Bank, Etawah.

Also Read: Sacked ministers & illegal mines: is Akhilesh making a last-ditch effort to change things?

The former PWD minister's earlier warning that officers were not listening to him and that he would resign if the situation continued had left Mulayam worried. At an event on Independence Day, Mulayam had chastised his son that if Shivpal were to leave, the party would be in dire straits.

But the manner in which he was removed as the party president left Akhilesh angry. He struck back by taking away all key portfolios of his uncle, who had been appointed president in his place.

Akhilesh blamed an outsider - Amar Singh -- for the party's troubles and insisted there was no place for him in the party. He hinted that Amar Singh could be ousted from the party. At the moment, however, Amar appears to be well entrenched.

What surprised observers was the decision on Prajapati, the allegedly corrupt minister who is facing a CBI inquiry in connection with illegal mining in the state.

In the end, it was much ado about nothing but the family drama has left the chief minister in an embarrassing situation. He is still unable to take strong decisions and when he does take them, he has to retract rather hastily. In all this, along with that of Akhilesh, the image of the Samajwadi Party too has taken a beating.

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: palace intrigue has left Akhilesh Yadav powerless, SP rudderless

First published: 16 September 2016, 7:12 IST