In signs that the infighting within the Samajwadi Party is far from settled, its patron, Mulayam Singh, and his brother, Shivpal Yadav, were absent from the party’s eighth State convention held here on Saturday.
Adding fuel to the fire, SP president Akhilesh Yadav in a veiled attack on his estranged uncle Shivpal, warned SP workers to “beware of banawati [fake] Samajwadis”.
Without naming anyone, Mr. Yadav claimed such Samajwadis had tried to harm the party from within. “They tried a lot and conspired to stall the movement. They were successful in one conspiracy, we could not come to power in the State. But our eyes have opened now. They won’t succeed in any conspiracy,” he said.
The former Chief Minister, however, clarified that he still enjoyed the blessings of his father, even as he asserted that along with the SP founder, several other leaders had worked hard to establish the SP and its andolan.
“Netaji is my father. And his blessings will always be with me, and with it we will carry forward this movement and take it to new heights,” he told party leaders and cadre.
Mr. Yadav and his uncle have been engaged in a long feud which reached its peak during the months leading to the 2017 Assembly elections.
Now amid speculation that Mr. Shivpal could hoist a new outfit, he looks further sidelined by his nephew. He was missing from the posters and banners put up by the SP to publicise its meeting.
The fresh conflict came to the fore recently after Mr. Mulayam Singh expelled his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav, who sides with Mr. Akhilesh, from the post of secretary in the Lohia Trust.
