A day after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said those who would meet with the Bharatiya Janata Party could not remain in his outfit, his uncle (and frequent rival) Shivpal Singh Yadav dared his nephew to expel him from the SP's legislature party.
Akhilesh Yadav did not take any names but his uncle's comment is pointed given his recent headline-making meeting with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
"It's an irresponsible comment. I contested the election on the symbol of the Samajwadi Party. If they think they need to take a decision immediately then they can expel me from the legislature party," news agency PTI quoted Shivpal Yadav as saying on Thursday.
Shivpal Yadav - who heads the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) - won the February-March assembly election from UP's Jaswantnagar. He contested on a SP ticket to beat the BJP's Vivek Shakya by over 90,000 votes.
Also read | Shivpal very much with SP alliance, claims Rajbhar
However, while they may be family ties between the two Yadavs have been strained since the uncle broke from the SP to form his party ahead of the 2017 election. The two seemed to make up in December, just weeks before polling began for the 2022 UP election.
{{/usCountry}}However, while they may be family ties between the two Yadavs have been strained since the uncle broke from the SP to form his party ahead of the 2017 election. The two seemed to make up in December, just weeks before polling began for the 2022 UP election.
{{/usCountry}}But things remain tense and Shivpal Yadav's meeting with Adityanath fueled speculation he may cross over to the BJP. After meeting the UP chief minister, Shivpal Yadav began following him, prime minister Narendra Modi, and former UP deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma on Twitter. Commenting on the rumours he told reporters: "As of now there is no decision on this matter. When the right time comes, I will definitely tell everyone about it."
Ties between Akhilesh and Shivpal Yadav soured after the latter was not invited to a meeting of party MLAs soon after election results came in, PTI reported. After this Shivpal skipped a meeting of the ppposition alliance led by the Samajwadi Party.
The SP chief has been cryptic when pressed on his uncle's choices. Questioned by reporters in Kannauj, he caustically advised them not to waste time on such issues.