Akhilesh, Shivpal come closer, try to sink differences

After withdrawing the petition seeking disqualification of Shivpal from the Assembly, Akhilesh is now ready for a 'seat adjustment' with his uncle's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia in the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Akhilesh hinted at 'strengthening' the truce when he said that his party may strike an 'adjustment' on the Jaswantnagar seat from where Shivpal is a sitting MLA.

Shifting from his earlier stand of contesting the 2022 Assembly elections alone, Akhilesh said, "We may take smaller outfits along and make some adjustments at the local level but will not enter into any major alliance."

In a video conference organised by a television channel, Akhilesh said on the issue of joining hands with uncle Shivpal and getting him back into the SP fold, "He is heading a separate political outfit. Us party ko adjust kar liya jayega Jaswantnagar seat par (We may have an adjustment with his party for Jaswantnagar Assembly seat)."

Shivpal Singh Yadav, meanwhile, said all options should remain open in politics.

"We will see if the offer is according to my stature," he said, refusing to comment further.

Shivpal, meanwhile, has personally invited Akhilesh Yadav to attend the inauguration of the Lohia Trust building in Etawah, scheduled to take place in mid-June.

Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the chief guest at the event which will also mark the grand reunion of the family.

A senior SP MLA who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted that a rapprochement between the two warring factions was very much on the cards.

"Both, Akhilesh and Shivpal, have faced sliding fortunes since 2016 when the factional war began. For our political survival, it is important that they sink their differences and revive the party. Akhilesh has charisma and Shivpal has organisational skills.  The combination can help the party regain lost glory," he said.

Sources said that Mulayam Singh Yadav had convinced Akhilesh to join hands with Shivpal.

"Netaji (Mulayam) has been keeping not too well and during one of his hospital visits, he asked Akhilesh that he wished to see the family and the party united. After this, Akhilesh has softened his stand and he now talks frequently on phone with Shivpal --  something he had not done in the past four years," said a family member.