Mulayam Singh Yadav expels son Akhilesh from SP: Everything you wanted to know

The unthinkable has happened. With the ultra-crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections right at the doorstep, Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has expelled his son, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav from the party, for six years.

Mulayam Singh Yadav had issued a show cause notice asking Akhilesh why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for releasing a parallel list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh elections, which includes several party leaders who, while close to the chief minister, did not make it to the official list released by Mulayam Singh on December 29.

“Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav doesn’t understand. Ramgopal is trying to weaken him. To save the party, we have expelled both Ramgopal and Akhilesh Yadav for six years,” Mulayam Singh said at a press conference in Lucknow.

The Yadav family drama has been going on for some time now. The growing rift between the family members has managed to create two factions within the party. On one side sit UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and and Ramgopal Yadav, Mulayam Singh’s cousin. On the other side of the fence are party chief Mulayam Singh and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Another key player in this family feud is an outsider: Amar Singh. In fact, Amar Singh is seen as the cause for the friction between Akhilesh and Shivpal. When Shivpal Singh attempted to broker a merger between Quami Ekta Dal (QED) and SP, Akhilesh opposed it and subsequently broke ties with QED. It was here that Amar Singh took Shivpal’s side.

May, 2016: Amar Singh rejoined SP, six years after he was expelled from the party in January, 2010. While this move was supported by Shivpal Singh, Akhilesh and Ramgopal opposed Singh’s re-entry to the party fold.

June, 2016: Shivpal Singh with the help of Amar Singh tried to forge an alliance with don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s party QED. The merger that was supposed to fall into place by August was vehemently opposed by Akhilesh. The merger was later called off.

July, 2016: Shivpal threatened to quit Samajwadi Party. Mulayam Singh intervened and placated Shivpal.

August, 2016:  Mulayam Singh Yadav took a clear dig at his son during an Independence Day function. “While he (Shivpal) is busy doing his job honestly and efficiently, a conspiracy is afoot against him and responsible people in the government are humiliating him,” said Singh.

“But if Shivpal quits, the party will go to winds,” Mulayam added indicating that he will go with Shivpal in case of a split in the party.

September, 2016: Akhilesh removed Deepak Singhal as chief secretary, allegedly after Singhal made fun of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav at a private bash thrown by Amar Singh. Singhal had previously, on several occasions, slighted the chief minister and even tried to undercut his authority. Singhal may have had this coming his way, his sudden removal, however, left Shivpal upset.

Soon after, Mulayam Singh replaced Akhilesh with Shivpal as state SP president. Akhilesh retaliated by stripping Shivpal of key portfolios in the government. Shivpal, following this, along with his wife and son, resigned from all positions in SP and UP government. Mulayam Singh rejected Shivpal's resignation as UP state chief and Akhilesh rejected his resignation as minister. But by now, the rift had become clear.

In his first decision as state party president, Shivpal expelled two of Akhilesh’s aides for their alleged involvement in land grabbing and similar activities. Shivpal went ahead to expel seven more party members, who were Akhilesh loyalists, for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the SP patriarch.

But even as Akhilesh Yadav tried to get a grip on the situation, Amar Singh was reinstated as the party’s general secretary on Mulayam Singh’s orders.

October, 2016: Mulayam declared that the party's CM candidate would be announced post the 2017 assembly polls, which fuelled speculations that Akhilesh may not, in fact, be nominated as CM candidate for UP polls. The speculations were soon put to rest with Akhilesh’s candidacy being announced.

On October 23, Akhilesh Yadav sacked Shivpal Singh Yadav from the cabinet along with three other ministers. Akhilesh’s confidant Ramgopal Yadav’s expulsion was announced by Shivpal Singh in response.

December, 2016: Mulayam, along with Shivpal Singh Yadav, declared the official list of 325 candidates for the assembly polls. This list did not include 107 party members who were close to and recommended by the chief minister.  Challenging the selection of candidates by Mulayam, Akhilesh on December 29, announced a parallel list of 235 candidates (of which 187 candidates featured in his father's list).

On December 30, Mulayam issued show-cause notices to Akhilesh Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav, asking why disciplinary action should not be taken against them. “Your issuance of a list parallel to that of the national president is gross indiscipline,” read Mulayam’s notice.

Following this, both Ramgopal and the chief minister were expelled from the party. Ramgopal has called this move “illegal” and accused the party chief of indulging in “unconstitutional” activities.

Mulayam Singh Yadav has already made it clear, that SP won't enter a pre-poll alliance with the Congress party, something that both Akhilesh and the Congress were keen upon. Post the split, this may no longer just be an option for Akhilesh, rather a crucial move, if he chooses to consolidate his victory in the upcoming assembly elections.

According to an analysis by The Huffington Post, Akhilesh is popular among voters, thanks to his development agenda. In fact, he may attract votes from those who form core vote banks of other parties, such as upper castes who vote for the BJP or Dalits who vote for Mayawati.

At present it seems unlikely that the father-son duo will come to a truce. Besides, even in a scenario where Akhilesh contests the elections far from the shadow of his father and uncle, a loss would still consolidate Akhilesh’s presence in the political sphere as a strong independent contender.

Also read - Does the Samajwadi Party need Akhilesh more than he needs it?