Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday clarified that there was no rift in his family and said that his dispute with his uncle Shivpal Yadav is a "political one". He said, "Where have you found a family fight? This is a fight in government, not a family fight."

On Wednesday, the chief minister stripped his uncle of several key ministerial positions, hours after Shivpal Yadav replaced him as the head of the Samajwadi Party’s Uttar Pradesh unit. Shivpal Yadav, however, had earlier said he will decide on whether to resign from Akhilesh Yadav's Cabinet after meeting his brother Mulayam Singh Yadav, reported ANI.

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Shivpal Yadav spoke to SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav over the phone about the development and is scheduled to meet him later in the day to discuss his next move. He said he will accept the party chief's decision. He said people in the state are with Mulayam Singh Yadav and the ruling party, reported ANI. On the same day, former mining minister Gayatri Prajapati, whom Akhilesh Yadav had sacked on Monday, also met Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi. The details of their meeting have yet to be made public. The chief minister cancelled all his meetings on Wednesday.

Shivpal Yadav lost major portfolios including the public works department, irrigation, land development, cooperatives, flood control, disaster relief, public service management, revenue and water resources. The ministries have now been distributed to other members of the state Cabinet, an official release said. Akhilesh Yadav also dismissed Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal. According to The Indian Express, Singhal is considered a close aide of Shivpal Yadav, and was appointed to the post two months ago.

Political analysts suggested that Mulayam Singh Yadav had given his brother charge of the party’s state unit to maintain a balance of power between Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav. Others suggested that fears of ann anti-incumbency vote against Akhilesh Yadav in the 2017 state elections prompted the move.