Ramgopal Yadav back in SP, boost for Akhilesh ahead of polls
The Samjwadi Party on Thursday revoked the expulsion of senior party leader Ramgopal Yadav, weeks after he was thrown out of Uttar Pradesh’s ruling party at the peak of a damaging power struggle in the Yadav clan.
The Samajwadi Party revoked on Thursday the expulsion of senior party leader Ramgopal Yadav, in a move to end a power struggle within Uttar Pradesh’s ruling family that threatens to undermine its chances in state elections next year. The turf war has pitted chief minister Akhilesh Yadav against his uncle Shivpal, virtually splitting down the middle a party Akhilesh’s father and patriarch Mulayam Singh is struggling to hold together.
Ramgopal had on Wednesday represented the party in the Rajya Sabha as the House debated the government’s demonetisation move. (PTI Photo)
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Ramgopal, Mulayam’s first cousin who backs Akhilesh, was expelled for six years on October 23 for alleged anti-party activities.
“Yeh toh hona hi tha; party mein wapsi hai Netaji ki kripa hai; Netaji kabhi mere khilaaf nahin the (This was expected. I am back because of Netaji, he was never against me),” news agency ANI quoted Ramgopal as saying. Mulayam is popularly known as Netaji.
Ramgopal’s return is seen by many as a victory for the chief minister who has been at loggerheads with Shivpal over control of the party and the choice of candidates for next year’s election.
The 70-year-old leader’s reinstatement was ordered by Mulayam, who had also signed off on his expulsion. Ramgopal will continue as the party’s general secretary and spokesperson, and will be part of the party’s central parliamentary board, the order said.
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While announcing his expulsion, Shivpal alleged that Ramgopal was conspiring with the BJP to weaken the Samajwadi party and tarnish the state government’s image.
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While announcing his expulsion, Shivpal alleged that Ramgopal was conspiring with the BJP to weaken the Samajwadi party and tarnish the state government’s image.
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Responding to Thursday’s announcement, Shivpal said, “…I have said it earlier as well that Netaji’s decision is the last decision and we will always support his decision.”
Pankaj Jaiswal is Bureau Chief, Uttar Pradesh. He covers-analyses politics, and assists Hindustan Times reporters across the state. He has 30 years of experience in print media reporting. Based in Lucknow, he started his journalism career at a national English daily in Kanpur after graduating from Christ Church College. He joined Hindustan Times, Lucknow edition, as part of the launch team in 1997. He’s covered everything from rural distress to science, environment, wildlife, and crime. He has travelled extensively in Uttar Pradesh for rural, development, political, and election reporting. His continued interest in rural issues, rural distress, and development journalism has fetched him a handful of prestigious awards and fellowships. Pankaj is a photojournalist too. He clinched the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting—First Prize in 2009 and Third Prize in 2006—for exposing Bundelkhand’s devastating drought and distress: crop failures, farm suicides, migration, debt, and the injustice of meagre compensation cheques between Rs 10 and Rs 20 to farmers by the government from crop loss. He also has been awarded with Hindustan Times internal 'Journalist of the Month' citation over half a dozen times. His relentless reporting in Hindustan Times pulled the Bundelkhand crisis out of obscurity and forced it into the national spotlight, prompting media and government action on one of India’s most neglected regions. Over a decade, he filed hundreds of hard-hitting stories, travelling repeatedly from Lucknow deep into Bundelkhand. He also received the Special Mention KC Kulish International Award 2009. Pankaj also did long-haul political reporting on the most intense political family feud—’The Yadav Family Feud’—between 2016 and 2022.
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