Akhilesh Yadav had expressed his disapproval of the merger with the Qaumi Ekta Dal. (File Photo)
Highlights
- Samajwadi Party calls off merger with Qaumi Ekta Dal
- Merger was backed by Akhilesh Yadav's father Mulayam Singh Yadav
- Akhilesh Yadav had expressed reservations against the deal
With a terse one-liner, Samajwadi Party parliamentary board member and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's uncle today underscored just who is in command in Uttar Pradesh.
"There will be no merger between the Samajwadi Party and the Qaumi Ekta Dal," Ram Gopal Yadav said, nixing a move backed by none other than party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav but opposed by his son, the 42-year-old chief minister.
A week ago, Akhilesh Yadav's other uncle, the all-powerful cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav had announced the merger of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's party with the Samajwadi Party ahead of state elections next year.
Mr Ansari has been in jail for over a decade for the murder of a political rival. He is also accused of kidnapping and extortion. He holds sway over the Muslim vote in pockets of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, particularly the districts of Mau and Ghazipur.
The merger had the blessings of Samajwadi Party supremo and Akhilesh Yadav's father Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, on the day the merger was announced, Akhilesh Yadav had sacked a senior minister in the cabinet, his father's long-time friend Balram Yadav for his role in negotiating the deal.
As a compromise today, the Samajwadi Party has decided to reinstate the sacked minister.
But earlier today, Akhilesh Yadav expressed his resentment over the merger without his mincing words. "Mukhtar Ansari will not be welcome in the party. We don't want such people in the party," Mr Yadav said during a television show in Lucknow.
"There was a debate over this issue across the state. The media was hyping it up. So to end all that we decided to use development as our biggest plank," Ram Gopal Yadav said.
The BJP, which has attacked the party over the moves, however was not convinced. "We said that day that it's all a family drama. We say it again today. It's impossible that the decision was taken in the first place without Akhilesh's knowledge. These are just image-building exercises for a failed chief minister," said BJP's Vijay Bahadur Pathak.