Senior Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday announced that he will form a new party with Mulayam Singh Yadav as its national secretary. Named Samajwadi Secular Morcha, Shivpal Yadav said the new outfit is an attempt to bring all the “Samajwadis” together and restore the Mulayam Singh Yadav’s lost dignity.
The veteran politician will soon meet state and national level leaders. “In order to restore his [Mulayam Singh Yadav] lost dignity and to bring all the Samajwadis together, there will soon be an announcement of this secular front in Lucknow,” he told ANI.
The Samajwadi Party had witnessed massive infighting months before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. A few party leaders later blamed the power struggle between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav for the party’s abysmal performance in the polls. The party had won only 47 seats in the 403-seats Assembly.
While one faction was led by Akhilesh Yadav, the other was headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav with his brother Shivpal Yadav’s support. The matter had also reached the Election Commission, when the two camps staked claim to the party name and symbol. The Akhilesh Yadav-led camp had won the battle.
It had all started in September 2016 when Shivpal Yadav had been appointed the state SP chief, following which Akhilesh Yadav had relieved him of his Cabinet portfolios. The feud had escalated in December after the former chief minister had 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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