Big Dare To Akhilesh Yadav From Uncle Shivpal Yadav Amid Turf War

Lucknow: 

Sulking socialist leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Thursday took on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over a remark alluding to his apparent closeness to the ruling BJP, and dared him to expel him from the SP legislature party.

Shivpal Yadav, who is Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle and heads his own Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), won the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on an SP ticket.

He was, however, not invited for a meeting of SP MLAs soon after the results came in. Since then he has thrown hints that he might cross over to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“As of now there is no decision on this matter. When the right time comes, I will definitely tell everyone about it,” the PSPL leader told reporters when questioned over the speculation.

He took exception to Akhilesh Yadav’s comment in Agra on Wednesday that anyone who meets the BJP will not remain with the SP.

“It’s an irresponsible comment. I contested the election on the symbol of the Samajwadi Party. If they think they need to take a decision immediately then they can expel me from the legislature party,” he said.

Though the SP president had not taken names, the comment came in the backdrop of Shivpal Yadav’s recent meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Shivpal Yadav had formed his own party after falling out with his nephew. But the two patched up ahead of the 2022 assembly polls.

He also dismissed Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar’s claim that the two are in regular touch and he is part of the alliance headed by the SBSP.

“So far, there have been no talks with him (on this issue). There was a phone call but no talks were held. It is likely that he talked to someone else, whose name resembles mine,” Mr Yadav said.