It is said that birds of a feather flock together but the opposite is happening in the Samajwadi Party. The family and decades-old friends are fighting like mad mongrels.
Instead of collectively putting up a strong opposition against the ruling BJP government, SP leaders and its allies are fighting among themselves. The infighting is now an open secret and is becoming a cause of public mockery for the party.
Akhilesh Yadav left stranded
A strong opposition is needed for checks and balances, and for keeping the democracy vibrant and strong. For that, protests are an effective tool for the opposition and the people to make their grievances heard. Recently, the Samajwadi Party tried to use this basic tool of politics and project its strength in the UP Vidhan Sabha. On Monday 23rd May, the Budget Session started with the Governor’s speech during which the opposition tried to register their protest. They raised several demands and slogans against the BJP-ruled government in the state. But the protest, instead of creating pressure on the BJP government, opened a can of worms for the Samajwadi Party.
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Many of the tall SP party leaders like Azam Khan, his son Abdullah Azam Khan and Shivpal Singh Yadav didn’t attend the protest and gave it a miss. The worries of the SP didn’t end there. To add insult to the injury, the allies too skipped the protest and humiliated the SP and its Chief Akhilesh Yadav. The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar not only skipped the protest but also said that the Governor is a lady and this practice of opposition protesting against the budget session should discontinue. While talking with journalists, he gave sermons to his ally, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav to not sit at home and instead go among the general masses.
The Conundrum for Samajwadi Party
The father-son duo, that is, Azam Khan and Abdullah Azam Khan took oath as an MLA from the SP party and yet they skipped the SP party-led protest. How ironic and funny right? This feud of the father-son duo from the party is because they have just come out on bail after languishing in jail for 23 months but the Samajwadi Party never tried to raise its voice in support of the duo. The SP veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav never went to meet both of them in jail and neither made a phone call. Interestingly, when the reporters asked Azam Khan why Netaji Mulayam Singh didn’t call him, Azam said sarcastically that Mulayam Singh might not have his number. The feud between Chacha-Bhatija has been the talk of the town for decades and enough has been already said about their love-hate relationship.
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In the recently concluded assembly elections, on the surface, it may look that SP is stronger than before, with an all-time high vote share but that’s not the case in reality.
The SP Supremo Akhilesh Yadav’s initial coronation was possible only because of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. His father preferred him for the CM-ship and sidelined his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav’s decades of hard work and toil. The party instead of expanding its vote base is failing to consolidate its famous M-Y vote bank that the then Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav stitched.
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The Samajwadi Party has been accused of vacating the political landscape in the lull period. This protest might have been an attempt by the SP to do a political make-over, but this too has failed miserably. The infighting among the SP leaders is somewhat hinting at the party going the Congress way. Anyways, the SP should not feel disheartened and it should see the funnier side and see whether it has achieved any record for staging the least attended protest or not.
