SP to sideline old guard, Akhilesh stays party chief

NEW DELHI: After the Samajwadi Party (SP) lost the Assembly elections against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh last month, the party will go through an organisational reshuffle after Eid which will culminate in a revamp of the main body of the party, most of the frontals, including presidents, in-charges, national executives in the districts, will be replaced by OBCS, SCs and STs on the lines of socialism. To sum it up, the party will replace its old guard with mostly young faces. SP premier Akhilesh Yadav will continue to hold the key positions of the party president and Leader of the Opposition.
A source indicated to The Sunday Guardian that there will be pointed responsibilities given to each rung of leadership, the MLAs will entirely focus on state level politics and the young office bearers will be handed with targets which they will have to achieve and will have to further amplify connecting with the grassroots to firmly strengthen the organisational network of the party. Although all the party leaders are tight-lipped about any development in the party, a source close to Akhilesh Yadav indicated that there is a trust deficit Akhilesh has with the Shivpal Yadav, “If he is given any position in the party, it will only lead to factions and infighting as his stand towards SP has never been clear in these two years, he is incurring many suspicions.”
Naveed Sidique, national spokesperson of the Samajwadi party, told The Sunday Guardian, “Actually that’s the strategy of the party and those are never to be discussed, yes it is sure that we will come with a big bang, just wait and watch, our national president will decide the posts as the Lok Sabha elections are also coming in 2024, our background preparation is just a signal to pull up socks and not to sit any further. We have focused on the development of the state and of the country. We will continue and keep working for it.”
Meanwhile, the party is also conducting a reassessment drive to figure out causes for the loss. In the first round of assessment, the party had analysed the causes for the decline of losing candidates, as the party had closely contested on 70 seats with the BJP where SP lost to the BJP candidates with a margin of less than 5,000 votes in Assembly elections. Party leaders believe the well-oiled campaign machinery of the BJP had dealt SP the blow. The party’s second round of contemplation will re-assess its loss on scientific lines and focus to reduce the gap between the party and masses by increasing accessibility. “Soon within a month, we will be on the streets against any misrule by the government,” a party leader said.