Mayawati seeks early elections in UP as feud in Mulayam's family worsens

BSP chief Mayawati had urged the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh by February in view of the growing power tussle between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal.

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has called for early elections in Uttar Pradesh in he wake of worsening power tussle between Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle and Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal.

Sensing an opportunity to corner the Samajwadi Party over the growing turmoil in Mulayam Singh Yadav's family, BSP chief had urged the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh by February.

The BSP leader had alleged that the “infighting” within the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan will have an adverse effect on the functioning of the state government.

Mayawati has claimed that the unrest will soon spill over to the streets, plunging Uttar Pradesh into a state of chaos in the coming months leading to difficulties in holding “independent, impartial and peaceful” elections in the coming months.

Mayawati's call for early polls came after Mulayam openly chide his son Akhilesh over matters of governance and expressed his displeasure over the CM’s ignorance of his father’s sage advice during the Independence Day celebrations in Lucknow.

Mulayam took the opportunity to communicate to the supporters of his party that he is miffed at the young CM and openly backed his brother, Shivpal Yadav who had earlier threatened to resign, alleging rampant corruption in the Uttar Pradesh government.

Mulayam warned that if Shivpal leaves the party, it will have disastrous consequences for the party’s prospects in next year’s elections.

Akhilesh has in recent times used his growing clout in the party to overturn many decision of the traditional big names of the party. In a bid to cement his image as modern leader free from the baggage of Samajwadi Party’s lawless past, the Yadav scion has taken steps which at times have undermined Shivpal Yadav’s authority.

The failed merger of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal with the Samajwadi Party has pointed to the widening rift between Akhilesh and Shivpal.

The move championed by Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal was nipped in the bud by the young chief minister after he put his foot down and forced the party to call the merger off within 24-hours of its conception.