Disgruntled SP leader says outfit not a party yet, to address a rally at Muzaffarnagar on 31 August.
New Delhi: Disgruntled Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Shivpal Yadav Wednesday announced the formation of an outfit, the Samajwadi Secular Morcha, in Lucknow.
Shivpal had been sidelined in the SP by party president Akhilesh Yadav, also his nephew, since he won from the Jaswant Nagar constituency in the UP assembly elections last year.
His new outfit, Shivpal said, had the blessings of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and will have its first rally at Muzaffarnagar on 31 August.
“It is not a political party. It is an effort to bring together all those who are being ignored in the Samajwadi Party and other smaller parties of the state,” Shivpal told ThePrint over phone from Lucknow. “Mulayam Singh Yadav has also assured to give his blessings to this effort by me.”
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‘Will decide on a party later’
The former UP minister said he will only decide on forming a political party after meeting his supporters, party workers and leaders from other smaller parties.
He had met UP minister and leader of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, Om Prakash Rajbhar, in Lucknow on 28 August.
“I can’t say if he is joining the morcha as he is still with the government,” Shivpal said.
Three days ago, he had remarked at Etawah, the Yadav family pocket borough, that he had been waiting for a year-and-a-half to be assigned a responsibility in the SP.
“After all, how long can I wait? If we contest the Lok Sabha elections together (Akhilesh and him), it will be encouraging for party members. But that is not for me to decide,” he said.
Strained ties
The strained relationship between Akhilesh and Shivpal appeared to be on the mend in January when the SP president wished his uncle on his birthday.
In March, when the party decided to back BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar for a Rajya Sabha seat, Shivpal and Akhilesh joined hands in an attempt to ensure that the BSP candidate mustered the requisite number of votes.
Although Ambedkar couldn’t manage an RS berth, SP workers were delighted to see the family united. Since then, however, the relationship had stagnated.
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“My first priority is to bring everyone together and then whichever party or alliance gives us due respect, we will join them,” Shivpal told ThePrint.
On Monday, former SP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh said he had fixed a meeting between Shivpal and BJP leaders but Shivpal didn’t turn up. “I don’t want to talk about that (joining the NDA). What will happen you will find out when it does,” Shivpal said.
All eyes will now be on his 31 August rally as it would present a clear picture on who all from within the SP will back him.