Image – CatchNews
SP veteran Shivpal Yadav for quite sometime has been blowing hot and cold. In an ever unpredictable political scenario in UP, Shivpal Yadav, a key player in the Samajwadi Party has carved out his own separate political front, ahead of the runup to 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Shivpal calls it the Samajwadi Secular Morcha. All this even as speculations are rife that the split in the SP has been engineered by old Mulayam loyalist Amar Singh.
SP chief, Akhilesh Yadav has been quoted as saying that there is no nepotism in the SP.
He is not moved by the plans of Shivpal Yadav to contest 80 seats in the upcoming general election. He responded to reporters with, “Good.”
Tipu as he is known as maintains that there is no love lost for Uncle Shivpal.
The SP is confident that the 2019 battle will be a rerun of the results in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana by-elections. Yadav Jr believes that the country is now looking forward to a new Prime Minister.
Image – NewsD
Going by Shivpal Yadav’s comments he is forging an alliance with smaller parties uniting those who have been feeling “neglected and humiliated”. He was recently speaking to reporters of UP in Baghpat.
Shivpal is betting big on the front adding it will do good in the next Assembly elections.
He hopes to change the political paradigm in UP’s 2022 assembly polls.
Shivpal Yadav from day 1 of the political bickering within the SP maintained he was sidelined within the party. He launched the new outfit on August 29.
Strategy of Shivpal Yadav will be to tap those who got left out in case of a grand alliance between SP and BSP. Sources tell the media they also have an eye on candidates who do not get tickets in BSP and the Congress.
With an insider breaking away to launch an outfit it is the Samajwadi Party that is clearly going to be the first target and casualty say experts.
Expert opinion widely suggests, Shivpal Yadav will most likely feed into the vote bank of Yadav and Muslims. Reportedly Yadav commands great clout in the Samajwadi party organisation that he has built up from scratch along with elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Meanwhile the Samajwadi Secular Morcha has clarified that there is clearly no animosity with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
It has been two years since Shivpal Yadav was sacked as a minister in the then Akhilesh Yadav led Uttar Pradesh government.
Image – NewIndianExpress
Interestingly an Amar Singh hand in the split is also being suspected. Recently expelled SP leader Amar Singh said that he had arranged a meeting between Shivpal with top BJP leaders. However, he added Shivpal did not attend the scheduled meeting.
It remains unclear if SP founder and brother Mulayam Singh Yadav would be part of the Morcha. Earlier MSY had said nobody respects him hoping people will honour him after his death, taking a jibe at son and SP president Akhilesh Yadav.
Shivpal continues to enjoy the status of a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from SP, reportedly has the support a number of SP MLAs. It is common knowledge that the Shivpal camp voted for NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind in the presidential election in 2017.
BJP and NDA partner Apna Dal in 2014 had clinched 73 out of the 80 seats in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. In the Lok Sabha while SP was reduced to five seats, Congress won two while the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) failed to open an account.
Fast forward to 2017 and the NDA bagged 325 seats while the SP and the Congress alliance had been reduced to 54 seats in a 403-member assembly. The BSP just managed only 19 seats.
Following success in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls, arch rivals SP, BSP and the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have announced a union ahead of 2019 general elections. The grand old party will also figure in this coming together of opposition faces.
Aim is to ensure anti-BJP vote does not split amongst themselves.
Reportedly Shivpal may also drive a significant percentage of the crucial Yadav caste votes away from SP, thus denting the opposition alliance’s chances in some seats.
Shivpal Yadav had been lying low all this while, he was not present in the party national executive held in Lucknow. Despite attempts for a political settlement, the party could not make much headway.
Shivpal tried to reach out to the nephew by standing by the party in the Rajya Sabha polls held earlier this year. He’s also reportedly held a couple of meetings with Mulayam’s cousin and Akhilesh loyalist Ram Gopal Yadav. But with Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav parting ways it seems the split was just a matter of time. It remains to be seen whether this unique coming together will make a dent on the votebank of the SP and also halt the Modi juggernaut.
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