Shivpal Yadav slammed Akhilesh Yadav for not inviting him to party meetings (File)
Lucknow:
Amid growing discontent in the opposition camp in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav and key ally Om Prakash Rajbhar announced their support for BJP-led NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu in the July 18 elections.
The decision came after both leaders attended a dinner hosted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for Droupadi Murmu last night.
“Neither Samajwadi Party called me, nor asked for my vote. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath invited me yesterday where I met NDA’s Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and decided to vote for her,” he told news agency ANI.
Both Shivpal Yadav and Om Prakash Rajbhar were not invited by Akhilesh Yadav for a meeting with the joint opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, Yashwant Sinha, on Thursday.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar had then said that he is “still with the Samajwadi Party, but will not remain together forcefully if Akhilesh Yadav doesn’t want it.
Taking a potshot at Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav slammed him for not inviting him to party meetings and alleged that it’s because of his “immaturity” that several alliances of the party are now taking a separate route.
“If Akhilesh Yadav took my suggestions seriously, the condition of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh would be completely different. Several alliances of Samajwadi Party are now leaving them and the reason is the political immaturity of the party chief,” he said.
Shivpal Yadav, who heads the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia, is currently an MLA from Jaswant Nagar, the seat he won contesting on the symbol of the Samajwadi Party.
He had formed his own party after falling out with his nephew. But the two patched up ahead of the assembly polls. He has also been critical of the treatment being meted out to party leader Azam Khan, whose supporters have accused the Samajwadi Party of ignoring him.
Om Prakash Rajbhar’s party has six MLAs in the state assembly. Last month, Mr Rajbhar hit out at Akhilesh Yadav after the party lost Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh to the ruling BJP.
“Can he point out one election he has won on his own?” asked Om Prakash Rajbhar. He said that Akhilesh Yadav had become Chief Minister in 2012 because of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav’s “largesse”.
Jansatta Dal Loktantrik chief Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also known as Raja Bhaiya, and the lone Bahujan Samajwadi Party MLA in Uttar Pradesh, Uma Shankar Singh, were also seen at the Chief Minister’s official residence for the dinner last night, sources have said.