Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav has resigned from all party and government posts, reports said. Yadav’s move came after he met brother Mulayam Singh late on Thursday. Yadav was earlier stripped of key ministerial posts by chief minister and nephew Akhilesh Yadav after he was made the party’s chief on Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be held in 2017.

The ongoing feud was triggered by Shivpal Yadav being made the party chief, a move that reports said was caused by fears of an anti-incumbency vote in the upcoming polls. Shivpal Yadav was then relieved of 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. Singhal is considered a close aide of Shivpal Yadav, and was appointed to the post two months ago. While the chief minister has dismissed reports of a family feud, Shivpal Yadav told ANI on Thursday that no party member can disobey Mulayam Singh Yadav's decisions and that it was important to remain united if the party was to be reelected to power.