Akhilesh will give tickets to family members in 2024 LS polls, including to Shivpal’s son, Aditya Singh Yadav, sources said.
New Delhi: The meeting between Shivpal Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, which took place recently, has ended the political deadlock between the two leaders. As they have come together, sources in the party claim that Akhilesh Yadav will accommodate the family members by giving them tickets in coming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including Shivpal’s son, Aditya Singh Yadav. However, Shivpal’s role in the party will be decided sooner.
It is believed by the party leaders that his erstwhile estranged uncle will be given an important position in the party. “He will either have a post parallel to Ramgopal Yadav, that is, of general secretary, or he will be made the party patron. Any position besides that would not be fitting for his stature,” a party insider said. Moreover, the party leaders say that he has a solid political experience and also has an extra heft in organisational politics which would play a crucial role in the coming Lok Sabha election battle. Shivpal Yadav is currently an MLA from Etawah’s Jaswantnagar. It was the same seat from where Mulayam Singh Yadav had won his first Assembly election in 1967.
Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Zeba Yasmeen, Samajwadi Party spokesperson, said, “It is a clear message that there are no grudges, and the party in which Shivpal was one of the founding members, is again his. Now, it is being entrusted upon them (Shivpal) to decide about their party. Probably, we should wait for the next step, whether he will take his Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) along with the Samajwadi Party or maybe there will be some other kind of understanding.”
The bonhomie between the two has come as a surprise for political bystanders as both have locked horns on many issues in the past. In the recently held presidential elections, Shivpal, who contested the 2022 Assembly elections on a SP ticket, had supported the BJP nominee and also vowed never to go back to SP again.
However, according to a political analyst, “Akhilesh has taken cognizance of political differences before Mianpuri elections and did not let things go on an autopilot mode. Had he left the decision pending, it could have damaged the party prospects on their most important seat of Mianpuri, which was formerly held by late Mulayam Singh Yadav.”
The Mianpuri bypolls, which were necessitated by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death, will be contested by Akhilesh’s wife, Dimple Yadav. It was indicated by party leaders that Shivpal may not have been taken into consideration while deciding a candidate on the seat. However, as it appears, bitter political relations have become better after the meeting between the two and Shivpal is seen actively campaigning for Dimple Yadav.