Shivpal Yadav slammed Akhilesh Yadav for not inviting him to party meetings (File)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav on Saturday announced his support for BJP-led NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The decision came after Shivpal Singh Yadav and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, a key ally of the Samajwadi Party, 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," Shivpal Yadav was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
Amid growing discontent in the opposition camp in Uttar Pradesh, Shivpal Yadav slammed Akhilesh Yadav 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.
Hours before the Chief Minister's dinner, Om Prakash Rajbhar yesterday said that he is "still with the party, but will not remain together forcefully if Akhilesh Yadav doesn't want it.
Mr Rajbhar said that he will take a decision on the presidential poll on his own.
The immediate flashpoint in their strained relationship is Akhilesh Yadav not inviting both, Shivpal Yadav and Om Prakash Rajbhar, for a meeting with the joint opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, Yashwant Sinha, on Thursday.
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 was known to be the second most powerful minister in Akhilesh Yadav's 2012-2017 government in UP. He had formed his own party after falling out with his nephew in 2018, but the two patched up ahead of the 2022 assembly polls.
Om Prakash Rajbhar's party has six MLAs in the state assembly. Last month, Mr Rajbhar slammed 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.