Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav announced on Friday that there would be no rift in the party "as long as he was there," NDTV reported. Mulayam Singh, through one-on-one meetings, attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute between his son and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his brother Shivpal Yadav. He also indicated that his son's decision to remove mining minister Gayatri Prajapati from his post would be reversed.

Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "There will be no division in the party till I am here. We have a big family, differences can occur." After the meeting, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav rejected his uncle and Shivpal Yadav's resignation from various party posts and the UP Cabinet, NDTV reported. Akhilesh Yadav said, "I have two duties, as a chief minister and as a son. I will honour the word of the party president and I will do everything to make my father happy."

Advertisement

On Thursday, Shivpal Yadav had submitted resignation letters to the chief minister and the party president, stating that he had quit all party and government positions. His supporters had taken to the streets demanding that he be reinstated.

Media reports of a rift in the political family emerged after Mulayam Singh Yadav replaced Akhilesh Yadav as the state's party president. The Indian Express reported that the move to replace Akhilesh Yadav was triggered by fears of an anti-incumbency vote against the SP government. Akhilesh Yadav had responded by stripping his uncle Shivpal of his key cabinet portfolios and launched a campaign for the upcoming state elections on Wednesday.

Shivpal Yadav then reportedly met Mulayam Singh Yadav and told him he could not continue to work as a demoted minister in the government. However, Shivpal Yadav told ANI that Akhilesh was well within his rights as chief minister to withdraw portfolios.