Yadav family feud: Mulayam snubs Akhilesh again, refuses to name him CM candidate

What are the odds?

Before the 2012 Assembly elections, Mulayam had taken a similar stand on the issue of chief minister. To avoid a rebellion from his brother, he kept his cards close to his chest until the last minute.

Despite making Akhilesh go through the grind, the chief minister claims his campaign then included 1 lakh kilometres on cycle, Mulayam did not name his son as CM candidate in the run-up to the elections.

But the situation in 2012 was different. Akhilesh, who was inexperienced then, is no longer a political greenhorn. Having ensured implementation of his flagship schemes, he is confident of heading the party's poll campaign as CM candidate again.

In his recent interactions with the media the chief minister has been saying that the people of the state have faith in him and would like to see him return to power.

Power play

Indeed, in recent months Akhilesh has emerged as the more credible face of the party compared to either Mulayam or uncle Shivpal Yadav, with whom he is locked in a power struggle.

Recent poll surveys have also shown that in the Samajwadi Party Akhilesh was a more popular chief ministerial candidate as compared to Mulayam.

But Mulayam holds a different view. The Yadav family patriarch has said in the recent past that he was the people's first choice as chief minister.

After publicly reprimanding his son several times, the last warning came in August this year when he told Akhilesh, "If I stand up, this government will feel the heat."

It was then that Mulayam's preference for his younger brother, who had threatened to resign from the cabinet, became clear. The party/family crisis brought the brothers together and left Akhilesh out in the cold.

The two Yadav brothers, with Amar Singh allegedly playing the villain in between, have pushed Akhilesh and his loyalists out of the party, forcing the chief minister to open an office for his young brigade in the name of Janeshwar Mishra Trust.

Picking sides

At Wednesday's press conference, Akhilesh was not present despite being in Lucknow. Seated next to the 76-year-old party patriarch, was Shivpal who had to repeat the questions to Mulayam. Yet Mulayam denied there was any feud in the family.

"There has been no feud in the family for three generations and you talk of feud now," Mulayam countered. He then held Shivpal's hand and announced, "This is family."