Shivpal Yadav criticises Akhilesh, attends dinner hosted by Yogi for Droupadi Murmu

|HT|

Uttar Pradesh leader Shivpal Yadav’s disappointment with his nephew and former chief minister - Akhilesh Yadav - was apparent on Saturday yet again as he criticized him over his “immaturity”, which, he claimed, has weakened the party. The fresh remarks against the Samajwadi Party chief came a day after Shivpal attended a dinner hosted by chief minister Yogi Adityanath for NDA presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu. “I was invited by the Chief Minister yesterday… so I went. We met Droupadi Murmu, and we have decided that we will vote for her,” Shivpal Yadav said even as his nephew is supporting the opposition’s nominee for the presidential elections - Yashwant Sinha.

The 67-year-old leader also did not hesitate from taking a fresh dig at nephew Akhilesh. “It seems that because of political immaturity, the party is getting weaker. A lot of people are leaving. If our suggestions had been heeded, the Samajwadi Party would have been in a better situation,” he said.

Shivpal Yadav had contested and won from the Jaswantnagar assembly seat in the February-March Uttar Pradesh elections amid assumptions that his differences with Akhilesh had been settled. The two leaders had a bitter fallout over control of the party before the 2017 assembly elections. Weeks after the 2022 assembly election results, however, they again seemed to be at loggerheads when it was alleged that Shivpal Yadav was not invited at a key party meeting. In April, Akhilesh was slammed by his uncle over a remark about reported meetings with the BJP leaders.

“It's an irresponsible comment. I contested the election on the symbol of the Samajwadi Party. If they think they need to take a decision immediately then they can expel me from the legislature party,” Shivpal Yadav had said.

Meanwhile, there has been buzz about the growing proximity between Yogi Adityanath and Shivpal Yadav.

In May, the UP chief minister lauded him in the state assembly: “Whenever there was a discussion about Samajwad (socialism), it was about Dr Ram Manohar Lohia or Jayaprakash Narayan. But when I see writings on Dr Lohia, now I see Shivpal Singh Yadav. People should read about Dr Ram Manohar Lohia. Your (Shivpal) style of work gives you identity. But Samajwad has been made a mirage.” On Friday, apart from Shivpal, Samajwadi Party's ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar was also reported to be present at the dinner hosted by Yogi Adityanath. The presidential elections are scheduled for July 18.

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