The elections in Uttar Pradesh may be over, but the Samajwadi Party is now preparing for a fresh bout of war in the party and the family.
Sadhana Gupta Yadav, the second wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had maintained a studied silence during the family feud, chose to air her views, a day before the final phase of voting in the state.
She has said that she now wants her son Prateek Yadav to join politics. Prateek’s wife Aparna Yadav had contested the Assembly elections.
This is the first time that Sadhana has come out to speak on the family feud and her relationship with step son Akhilesh. Sadhana has made it clear that she will now assert herself and would not tolerate the humiliation of Netaji (Mulayam) any longer.
“Main ab chup nahin baithungi,” she told a news agency, creating a flutter in political circles.
Akhilesh Yadav, when asked, said that he had no knowledge of the interview, but added that anyone was welcome to join politics.
According to sources, family members who have an axe to grind with Akhilesh Yadav have already started sharpening their knives. Sadhana’s decision to come out in the open and literally throw a challenge to her detractors is now being seen as the lull before another storm in the family and the party.
The Samajwadi Party’s performance in the elections, sources said, will trigger a fresh attack on Akhilesh who took his own decisions – from giving tickets to forging an alliance with the Congress — which apparently did not yield the desired results.
Sadhana, in a perfectly timed statement, also reminded Akhilesh of his promise to return the party to his father. “I hope that Akhilesh will live up to his promise and return the president’s post to Netaji,” she said.
Akhilesh’s associates now feel that the SP president will be on the firing line from within the family. His estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav had earlier said that he would wait for the election results to decide the future course of action.
“Akhilesh has made too many enemies in his own family. It does not need an astrologer to predict that he will face a tough time in the post election period,” said a close associate of the family.
While Mulayam Singh Yadav has chosen not to react to his wife’s outburst, Sadhana Yadav clarified that there were no differences between her and Akhilesh Yadav and he always treated her with respect.
“He has been misled by some people; otherwise, he would not have done what he did. I never expected him to revolt like this. He should not have insulted his father and Shivpal who has done so much for us. He did not make any mistake and should not have been insulted. He stood by the family and Netaji in times when we were not so well off,” she said.
She also said that she had also been insulted and would not step back now though she had remained behind the scenes all these years. “Ab hum peeche nahi hatenge, mera bahut apmaan hua hai,” she added.
She further said: “I feel bad about what happened in the family. A chief secretary was transferred and people said I was behind it. This is false, though I wish I was so powerful. However, no matter what, nobody should have disrespected Netaji; it is he who founded and nurtured the party.”
She denied that the family strife began because of her. “I always treated Akhilesh like my own son and made a lot of sacrifices. We never realised when Akhilesh changed. Now I want to give a befitting reply to those who are responsible for all this,” she said.
Sadhana also said, “I do not know who misled him. He respects Netaji and me a lot. He is always concerned about our health and used to tell me not to take sugar since I am diabetic. He even used to call the doctors whenever I was unwell.”
Asked whether she would join politics herself, Sadhana said, “Earlier, I wanted to, but Netaji did not allow me to do so. Now, I will do social work, but Prateek should enter politics.”