Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav have called meetings with newly elected legislators on separate days, indicating that all is still not well in the party. While the former chief minister will have a meeting with the new MLAs on Tuesday, Mulayam Singh Yadav will meet them on Wednesday.
According to reports, the position of the leader of Opposition is the latest reason for a rift in the party. While Akhilesh Yadav wants former minister Ram Govind Chaudhary to take over the post, Mulayam Singh Yadav wants the post to go to Shivpal Yadav. Senior party leader Azam Khan is also a contender for the leader of Opposition, reported Deccan Chronicle.
The party got decimated by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded state elections. The BJP and its allies won 325 seats in the 403-seat Assembly. The Samajwadi Party and its alliance partner Congress together managed to get only 54 seats.
The Samajwadi Party’s infighting in the run up to the polls may have been one of many reasons for their poor show in the elections. While one faction was led by Akhilesh Yadav, the other was fronted by Mulayam Singh Yadav with brother Shivpal Yadav by his side. The fight reached the Election Commission as well, when the two camps staked claim to the party name and symbol. The Akhilesh Yadav-led camp won the battle.
It had all started in September 2016 when Shivpal Yadav was appointed the state SP chief, following which Akhilesh Yadav had relieved him of his Cabinet portfolios. The feud escalated in December after the former chief minister released his own list of candidates for the polls. However, despite all this, both factions had continuously maintained that they there were no differences in the party.
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