Amar Singh, Jaya Prada expelled by Mulayam

Lucknow: After a bitter separation, the marriage has ended. And like many high-profile divorces, now that it's officially over, the gloves are off.

Announcing  that Amar Singh and his protégé, actor Jaya Prada, had been expelled for "anti-party activities",  the Samajawadi Party spokesperson said, "His entry into the party was capitalist and communal intrusion."

Amar Singh's bitter response, "You cannot run a party based on caste and nepotism...On these bases you can only run the Yadav Mahasabha." However, he was quick to add that he respects Mulayam, and said, "I am blessed by him...he has given me liberation."

Both Amar Singh and Jaya Prada will remain Members of Parliament.

Within seconds, the debate, even within the party, was about what would happen now to  actor Jaya Bachchan, another  Amar Singh loyalist and MP. "It's a sad day for the party...I wonder if I will be the next to go," she said to NDTV, while stating that she will not resign from the party. So will Mulayam fire her as well? Bachchan also made it clear whose side she is on.  "Amar Singh is my family," she said. (Read: Will quit SP if asked to, says Jaya Bachchan)

Along with Amar Singh and Jaya Prada, four MLAs of the Samajwadi Party, also seen as close to Amar Singh, have been expelled.

Jaya Prada, is the party's Member of Parliament from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.  She  had recently  said she would "stand by Amar Singh in his hour of crisis" because he introduced her to the party and fought for her when other party leaders were not in favour of her being the party's candidate from Rampur for the last general elections in May 2009.

Amar Singh, once inseparable from Mulayam Singh Yadav, resigned as General Secretary and from the party's parliamentary board in January.  Singh was upset with Mulayam's family, especially his son, Akhilesh, for publicly criticizing him.   After the rift over Jaya Pradha's election in May, the other point of conflict became the Firozabad by-election, held in November.

Mulayam's son, Akhilesh, had won the Lok SAbha election from here but chose to represent Kannauj instead.  His wife, dimple, then stood for elections from here, against actor Raj Babbar of the Congress.  Yadav was defeated, which was humiliating for the party and its leader.  Mulayam's family blamed Amar Singh, who, in turn, said the Yadavs had been over-confident.

Now, Amar Singh is negotiating his next political move.  Of late, he has publicly praised both  Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati.

What's clear is  that his attempts to weaken Mulayam - much as Raj Thackeray has done with the Shiv Sena in Mumbai after he fought with Uddhav and Bal Thackeray - will get tacit support from the  both the  Congress and  Mayawati.