Team News Riveting
New Delhi, December 16
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav today set aside his difference with uncle Shivpal Yadav and called on him at his New Delhi residence.
The estranged “chacha-bhatija” have decided to bury their differences and join hands to put a collective fight against the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath BJP. Both had a marathon meeting to settle their differences and form an alliance though Akhilesh has denied any tie up with bigger parties in the run up for the state polls.
Already, he has formed tie-ups with Janwadi Party (Socialist), Om Prakash Rajbhar’s SBSP, Keshav Dev Maurya’s Mahan Dal, the Apna Dal faction led by Krishna Patel and Jayant Chowdhury’s Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Sources said Akhilesh wanted Shivpal’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party to merge into the Samajwadi Party. But the uncle had some reservations and the parley ended up with a tie-up deal. Speculations were rife that Shivpal Singh could dissolve his party and merge with Akhilesh-led party.
Akhilesh Yadav himself took to Twitter to announce the alliance with Shivpal Yadav’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party.
Shivpal Yadav, 66, had broken away from the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2017 elections and formed his own party — the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) after very public differences with Akhilesh Yadav. However, it could not make a footprint outside Etawah region.