Shivpal stays away from meeting of SP allies

Faultlines in Yadav clan resurface

Faultlines have resurfaced in the Yadav clan as Shivpal Yadav didn’t attend the meetings of the allies with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday. Mr. Shivpal chose to spend the day listening to Bhagavat in Etawah. The tension in the family became apparent when the uncle was not invited by the nephew to the meeting of the SP’s legislatures where Mr. Yadav was appointed as the leader of the legislative group.

Making his anguish known, Mr. Shivpal had told reporters that he was disappointed at not being invited to the meeting of party legislators. “I have won on the Samajwadi Party symbol. So, I felt that I would be invited to the meeting.” SP president Naresh Uttam Patel had played down the incident, describing Mr. Shivpal as an alliance partner and that he would be invited to the meeting pf allies.

The same day Mr. Shivpal left for Etawah and attended a meeting where the Bharatiya Janta Party candidate from Sirsaganj, Hariom Yadav, was present.

A close relative of party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr. Hariom was the sitting SP MLA but switched to the BJP when a protege of Ramgopal Yadav, cousin of Mr Shivpal with whom he shares a tumultuous relationship, was given the SP ticket. Mr. Hariom had spoken against Mr. Ramgopal when Mr. Shivpal formed his own party in 2018.

Mr. Shivpal said Mr. Hariom had worked hard and should have won. Talking to reporters, he used the metaphor of Mahabharat to put his point across. “In Mahabharat, Yudhisthir made the mistake of getting into a gambling duel with Shakuni (his uncle), instead of taking on Duryodhan.”

He went on to remind that among the SP legislators, he had won by the highest margin from Jaswant Nagar. Observers said it was a dig at Mr. Yadav for whom he had canvassed in Karhal.

He made his disappointment known by not taking oath as an MLA on Monday. On Tuesday, Mr. Shivpal said he would make his next move known soon.