Akhilesh’s uncle is unhappy that he has been given Budaun to fight from.
Samajwadi Party veteran and the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav is unhappy that his name has been declared as the party candidate for Budaun Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Party insiders say that he did not want to contest the elections from an unsafe seat.
With Akhilesh Yadav deciding on his own to field his uncle from Budaun, there are murmurs that the party boss may be wanting to draw Shivpal Yadav’s political career to a close. A leader said, “Shivpal Yadav is such a senior and respected leader, but in spite of that he was not consulted on the seat. A decision has been imposed on him, which is sending a message with wrong connotations in context of where he stands in the party.”
An SP leader said, “It clearly looks like Akhilesh wants to put an end to the innings of the old guard and those who were close to Mulayam Singh Yadav. If Shivpal Yadav loses the election, he will have no credibility to helm the important affairs of the party, as there will emerge a narrative that since he couldn’t win his own seat, how can he help the party win elections?”
A party insider privy to the developments in the state said, “After the party announced Shivpal’s name in its third list of candidates, he did not visit the constituency for long. It is just lately he went there and started the required preparations. Apparently, he wanted to contest from Azamgarh (SP bastion), from where Akhilesh himself used to contest. Or he wanted a seat somewhere near the Etawah region (another SP stronghold).”
A political analyst said, “If he is happy, then the organisation will work very well as the rank and file who are connected with him will get the message that the leader they are associated with is important which will subsequently help them grow in the party or at least give them a credible space in the party ecosystem. More than that the old guard tunes very well with him so his instructions will create a great fervour among them. Therefore if he is happy they will be motivated and work in favour of him and party affairs. But if he is not happy, it could work against the party’s aspirations.”
Despite Shivpal’s disinterest in contesting the general elections, he will contest the Budaun parliamentary constituency instead of Dharmendra Yadav, the nephew of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Shivpal Yadav is currently the MLA from the Jaswantnagar Assembly constituency in Etawah district.