In what can serve as a bolt from the blue for the PM aspirations of ex CM Akhilesh Yadav and his new found ally Mayawati, his own uncle, and influential figure in Samajwadi Party, Shivpal Yadav, has come to play spoilsport again. Announcing his own ‘Secular Morcha’, Shivpal has decided to give a befitting reply to the current Samajwadi Party supremo for going astray from his roots.
This is how the event is unfolding:
Distressed by the negligence towards the old faction by Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav has decided to float a ‘Samajwadi Secular Morcha’ within the party itself and has asked the loyal members to join his faction for the sake of old loyalties, especially towards the ex supremo and India’s former Defence Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
To quote him, “I have formed a Samajwadi Secular Morcha. I was ignored in the Samajwadi Party and I patiently waited for 2 years. Nobody cared to inform me about the party proceedings or even invited me for the same. I wasn’t accorded any responsibility either.”
Before Shivpal decided to take the matters into his own hands, Akhilesh faction was sounding like a potential threat, with their alleged ‘social engineering’ by allying with once diehard enemies BSP proving successful in a couple of bypolls, including that of Kairana, Phulpur and Gorakhpur. A united Yadav+ Muslim+Dalit votebank is any day a living threat for BJP’s political aspirations in 2019.
However, with Shivpal’s decision, BJP will not only heave a sigh of relief, but also work towards a historical mandate in the same way as they did for the UP assembly elections in 2017. This was the time when the infighting between Mulayam faction, supported by Shivpal, and Akhilesh faction, supported by Ram Gopal Yadav and Azam Khan came out in the open. A fight for political supremacy, Akhilesh emerged victorious and decided to ally with the Congress in order to completely nullify BJP’s aspirations.
However, he forgot to take one fact in mind: never ignore the disgruntled within your party. The Shivpal faction aside, his decision to ally with Congress especially when public support for the BJP post demonetization was at an all time high, proved to be a disaster, and despite being underrated before the elections, it was BJP who walked away with a whopping 325 seats in the elections. So the announcement of a ‘Samajwadi Secular Morcha’ is nothing less than a blessing in disguise for BJP.
How?
One can ascertain the importance of this outfit through these knee jerk reactions by left leaning intellectuals, which though ridiculous, indicate the possible outcome of the 2019 elections:
Shivpal Yadav & Amar Singh are attacking @yadavakhilesh & trying to break the SP according to a plan scripted by Amit Shah. All to ensure that SP & BSP don't ally & the SP is weakened in UP
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) August 30, 2018
AmarSingh with backing from Bjp out to divide SP, using Chacha Shivpal.
SP divide resurfaces: Shivpal Yadav floats ‘Samajwadi Secular Morcha’ within partyhttps://t.co/ShSzyQhSpcShared by Indian Express iOS app
Click here to download https://t.co/lCJ7myBo1O— shahid siddiqui (@shahid_siddiqui) August 30, 2018
After all those meetings with Amit Shah at his residence in Delhi, Shivpal Yadav finally confirms all those rumours doing the rounds since the last few weeks! https://t.co/3BgGUrSjnG
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) August 29, 2018
The liberals may call it what they want, but they ignore one fact that no matter how despicable his style, Shivpal Yadav has been one of the founding blocks of a once powerful regional party. Neglecting him for mere political gains is not a very sensible decision, especially when he is still useful enough. With that, Akhilesh Yadav has committed a grave mistake by allying once again with the wrong partners, and that shall cost him dear in 2019 elections. The Game is On, and Shivpal Yadav shall enjoy it dearly!