Progressive Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) chief and Samajwadi Party ally Shivpal Yadav on Tuesday avoided a post-election meeting of Samajwadi Party allies convened at the SP headquarters in Lucknow.
Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA Abbas Ansari and Apna Dal (K) leader Pallabi Patel also did not attend the meeting called by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Speaking to media in Bharthana (Etawah), Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal said, “I have nothing to say on the issue. If I have something to say, I’ll call you [the media]”
On March 26, Shivpal Yadav said that despite being an MLA from SP, he was not called for a review meeting of SP MLAs in Lucknow. However, the SP later clarified that Shivpal Yadav has his own party and he was an ally and a meeting for the allies was scheduled later. Shivpal contested the SP symbol from his traditional Yashwantnagar constituency in Etawah district in the recent elections.
Patel, who defeated Keshab Prasad Maurya, was not present, while his party was represented by his party’s (K) national general secretary Pankaj Niranjan.
In the recent UP Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the state for the second consecutive term, winning 255 out of 403 assembly seats. SP got 111 seats. After the result, Shivpal blamed the BJP for their defeat. “Our (SP alliance) seats and voting rate have increased in the elections. The people of the state have not lost the SP. We lost because of the dishonesty and cunning of the BJP, ”said Shivpal.
Before the 2022 UP Assembly elections, Akhilesh and Shivpal joined hands after years of disagreement.
On January 1, 2017, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav snatched control of the SP from his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal.
Meanwhile, Shivpal announced his new political party PSPL on September 28, 2018. Shivpal alleged that he felt neglected in the SP set up by his elder brother Mulayam after his nephew took charge. For so many years, Akhilesh had denied any alliance with his uncle. The pair did not come together in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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