The ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh is virtually split as party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday expelled for six years his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, along with senior party leader Ramgopal Yadav. The state has been plunged into a political crisis as Akhilesh Yadav is now Chief Minister but not a member of the ruling party.
Akhilesh Yadav, who had not spoken publicly on the matter till late Friday evening, is believed to have called a meeting of all the MLAs at 9 am on Saturday. If the party’s legislators re-elect him as their leader, Mulayam’s edict is as good as void.
Meanwhile, UP Governor Ram Naik said he was keeping a close watch on the situation. The State DGP and Principal Secretary (Home) reached the CM’s residence after taking stock of the security arrangements at Mulayam’s house.
Flanked by his brother Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam expelled Akhilesh and said the new Chief Minister will be chosen by the party. “We have to save the party. The party comes first. That is why we are expelling both Akhilesh and Ramgopal,” he said. Mulayam said Ramgopal, who had earlier been expelled and then taken back, had started acting targeting him, and such activities “cannot be tolerated”.
Ramgopal described the move as anti-constitutional and accused Mulayam of acting against the party.
The family feud, which has been simmering for the past couple of months because of the power tussle between Mulayam and Shivpal on the one side and Akhilesh and Ramgopal on the other, erupted this week when Mulayam released a list of candidates for the upcoming polls which did not include any of Akhilesh’s supporters.
Following this development, Akhilesh too released his alternative list of 235 candidates, which included all his loyalists who had been denied the party ticket. Mulayam clearly took exception to Akhilesh’s alternative list and saw it as a sign of open rebellion. “How can he (Akhilesh) release the list when the party has declared its candidates? Both Akhilesh and Ramgopal want to finish the party. I will not let it happen. I have built this party through hard work,” Mulayam said.
“I had made Akhilesh the Chief Minister with much fanfare,” he added.
With regard to the emergency meeting called by Ramgopal on Sunday, Mulayam said only the party president has the power to convene such a meeting. “The party cannot run on Ramgopal’s whims,” Mulayam said.