Akhilesh Yadav tells uncle Shivpal to strengthen his own party

Uncle and nephew trade barbs with fresh churn in their political relationship

Amid a fresh churn in their political relationship, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday advised his uncle Shivpal Yadav, who has been constantly shooting barbs at him, to strengthen the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), which Mr. Shivpal formed after breaking away with the SP.

Mr. Shivpal, who was elected an MLA on the SP symbol, once again started drifting apart from his nephew after the results of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. He claimed he felt belittled. 

Amid this atmosphere, while talking to reporters in Jhansi, Mr. Akhilesh advised the senior Yadav to strengthen his party. Mr. Akhilesh stressed that the SP had only provided him the party’s symbol for the election and that Mr. Shivpal continued to lead his own party.

“He has his party. He is the national president of the party. He should further strengthen his party,” Mr. Akhilesh said, when asked about his uncle.

In a tweet on Eid-ul-Fitr, Mr. Shivpal launched a scathing attack targeting his nephew, expressing his hurt. Mr. Shivpal, without naming his nephew, said he had compromised his self-respect to satisfy Mr. Akhilesh. “I taught him to walk and he trampled on me,” Mr. Shivpal said.

On Thursday, Mr. Shivpal said he had finished the review of his party’s organisation and would complete the restructuring in a week. “I will hand over the members of PSP (L) their responsibilities. We will strengthen our party organisation,” Mr. Shivpal, whose nephew recently linked him to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).