If not now, then when? Akhilesh Yadav tells a Bihar minister what he really wants

In what may be the first clear revelation of his mind, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has told a senior minister of the ruling alliance in Bihar that he does not aim merely to have a major say in the Samajwadi Party.

“I must clean up the party now,” Akhilesh said, according to the Bihar minister who called him in the evening of October 24, the day the UP Chief Minister had a major showdown with his uncle Shivpal Yadav, and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

“If I don’t act today, I will still have to do this two years later and by then it may be too late,” Akhilesh added, apparently referring to the next Lok Sabha elections, the run up for which will begin towards the end of 2018.

Although Akhilesh did not explain to the Bihar minister as to what he meant by the “clean up” of his party, it is obvious that he wants to free it from the old guard who are presented as being responsible for all the ills of the state and the party, ranging from corruption to hurdles in governance to communal violence in Uttar Pradesh.

The observation of Akhilesh is striking as it reveals not just the clarity with which he is pursuing his objective but also a sense of urgency that is fuelling his effort as he gets embroiled in a fight to the finish with Shivpal Yadav over the legacy of the party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The war of attrition, in fact, intensified on Wednesday when Shivpal Yadav expelled Pawan Pande, the Akhilesh loyalist and a minister in his cabinet, from the party for six years. With Mulayam so far on his side, Shivpal Yadav has already sacked several of the leaders close to the chief minister from the party. Akhilesh Yadav, on his part, has expelled his uncle and three of his loyalists from the state cabinet.

Determined action

That the chief minister means business is evident by the fact that Shivpal Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav have already become isolated in the party as most legislatures – MLAs, MLCs and MPs – have rallied behind Akhilesh Yadav, who also enjoys the support of overwhelming majority of the SP’s ground workers in the state.

It is apparently to underline this very fact that merely hours after Shivpal Yadav expelled Akhilesh Yadav’s aide Pande from the party, the chief minister met UP Governor Ram Naik and submitted letters of support from 205 party MLAs. In the 403-member state Assembly, the SP has the strength of 224. Samajwadi Party insiders believe that the meeting, which was officially described as a courtesy call, has sent out a clear message that Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav are in no position to affect Akhilesh Yadav’s control over the chief minister’s chair.

According to a minister close to Akhilesh Yadav, while Shivpal Yadav, who is the president of the SP’s state unit, is trying have his way by removing key individuals of the rival camp, the chief minister is trying to fight his battle on the plane of people’s perception, by capturing the imagination of the rank and file of the party and by presenting himself to common voters as a well-meaning person committed to development and good governance.

It is not without reason that as he fights out with his father and uncle, his supporters have launched a mega campaign to make the crisis in the SP look like a battle between “an honest and reformist administrator” and “a corrupt decaying old order”, which must be cleaned up if the party has to win the upcoming Assembly election and the state has to remain on the path of development.