In a pointer to the growing stature of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the affairs of the party, his father and Samajwadi Party president, Mulayam Singh, on Wednesday reinstated Sanjay Lathar and reappointed him as the national president of the Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha.
Mr. Singh expressed the hope that Mr. Lathar would work with commitment towards strengthening the party. Apart from being the Chief Minister, Mr. Akhilesh is also the president of the State unit of the SP.
A close aide of Mr. Akhilesh, Mr. Lathar had been sacked from the party in September by the national general secretary of the SP and Mr. Akhilesh’s uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav (reportedly on Mr. Mulayam Singh’s directives).
Mr. Lathar, who was the president of the Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha, was charged with anti-party activities. The charges against him were not specified by Prof. Ram Gopal, though it was alleged that Mr. Lathar on account of his closeness to Mr. Akhilesh had earned the nickname of “mini CM” in Agra and Noida.
Mr. Lathar’s closeness to Mr. Akhilesh became evident when he was given ticket for the by-election to the Mant Assembly constituency after the seat fell vacant following the resignation of the Rashtriya Lok Dal MP from Mathura, Jayant Chaudhary.
Mr. Chaudhary was elected to the Vidhan Sabha from Mant in the 2012 Assembly elections but had preferred to retain his Lok Sabha seat.
