SP set for cabinet expansion even as murmurs of discontent grow

LUCKNOW: Amid murmurs of discontent in the Samajwadi Party (SP) over the controversial merger with gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED),

LUCKNOW: Amid murmurs of discontent in the Samajwadi Party (SP) over the controversial merger with gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED), UP minister Shivpal Singh Yadav on Wednesday said he had announced the decision with the consent of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

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Yadav said everything was “alright in the party”, a day after CM Akhilesh Yadav indicated his unhappiness over the merger and sacked cabinet minister Balram Yadav, who apparently facilitated the move.

“Everything is alright in the party. It is the right of the chief minister to appoint ministers. I announced merger of QED with the consent of Netaji (Mulayam),” he told reporters here.

The party has convened a meeting of its parliamentary board on June 25 to discuss the row surrounding the merger and the cabinet expansion slated for June 27.

While a cabinet berth for Swami Prasad Maurya, who quit the BSP on Wednesday, is said to be a foregone conclusion, the panel will discuss three other names to be included for the oath-taking ceremony.

Meanwhile, the BJP targeted the SP over the merger, alleging it was a case of “appeasement and vote-bank politics” and the party was trying to win Uttar Pradesh polls “with the help of gangsters”.