Trouble In UP Alliance? Akhilesh Yadav's Uncle Meets Yogi Adityanath

While Shivpal Yadav formed his own political party ahead of the 2017 assembly election over control of the party, he is still said to have considerable heft within the SP.

Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of Akhilesh Yadav who had allied himself with the Samajwadi Party ahead of the polls, today met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for what he described as a "courtesy visit". The two had a 30-minute meeting, sources said. Though no details of the discussions were available, the optics of the meeting is expected to weigh against the Samajwadi Party, which is seen to be on a strong wicket after its hugely improved performance in the recently concluded assembly elections.

Sources close to Akhilesh Yadav said the uncle and nephew had a fallout of sorts when they met last on March 24.

"Shivpal Yadav had asked for a bigger organisational role but Akhilesh Yadav had suggested that Shivpal expand his political party Pragatisheel Samajwadi party with support of SP," sources told NDTV.

While Shivpal Yadav formed his own political party ahead of the 2017 assembly election over control of the party, he is still said to have considerable heft within the SP.