Lucknow, Aug 2 : Threat of being marginalised in Uttar Pradesh politics and diminished role in secular grand alliance looms large on Akhilesh Yadav, who is set to get his second term as the Samajwadi Party chief next month. Besides, rapid political events like desertion of the secular camp by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and defection of two SP MLCs to the BJP, growing proximity of his `man Friday’ and SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav with Prime Minister Narendra Modi have only added to his trouble. This was indicated during a reception hosted by SP Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agarwal in Delhi in last week of July to honour senior colleague Ram Gopal Yadav for completing 25 years in Parliament, where Akhilesh Yadav was conspicuously absent despite being invited. So was SP patriarch Mulayam Singh. Sources close to the SP president maintained that he skipped the event for obvious political reason. However, leaders, cutting across party lines, attended the reception. Political top guns like Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took time out to be present. “Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal Yadav are now clearly identified as allies of the ruling alliance at Delhi —the NDA. Both have publically voted for Ramnath Kovind, the NDA candidate for Presidential poll. Mulayam will again vote for the NDA candidate for Vice-President’s election. Now Ram Gopal too is following the steps of his brothers and shifting his allegiance with the NDA. This could spell trouble for Samajwadi Party,’’ said a senior SP leader. “Akhilesh Yadav rebelled against uncle Shivpal and heaped humiliation on his father Mulayam Singh by toppling him from the post of national president of SP. This was done on the political strength and advice of his uncle Ram Gopal. Akhilesh Yadav had put everything at stake only on the strength he drew from Ram Gopal. But the same man left Akhilesh Yadav in the lurch at the most critical moment of his political life and is playing footsie with PM Modi,’’ said the SP leader. The SP sources averred, “Akhilesh Yadav is now left with two options. One, he joins the bandwagon of his father and uncles or two, go soft on the BJP or adopt an neutral posture and pursue his own brand of `aggressive secularism’ like he has been pursuing for the last five years.’’ “When a veteran leader like Bihar CM Nitish Kumar could not withstand BJP’s growing pressure, can Akhilesh Yadav be expected to undertake mission impossible,” an SP MLA said. The SP leader said, “Time is fast running out and Akhilesh Yadav has to take the critical decision. If he takes the plunge, then he may emerge as a taller leader than his father and Nitish Kumar. The present state of inertia at the top echelons of SP has almost crippled the outfit. The SP MLAs boycotted the last leg of Budget session of the Assembly but we failed to create a new narrative and send a strong message to our electorate.’’ But a clear picture would come up during the national convention of the party to be summoned in the last week of September when Akhilesh Yadav would be elected as the national president for the second time within a year though there would be pressure on him to give back the post to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Akhilesh Yadav was declared the SP president on January 1, 2017 during an emergency national convention and Mulayam Yadav was shown the doors. UNI
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