Turmoil in SP after Mulayam exiles Akhilesh Yadav for 6 years
The ruling Samajwadi Party was on Friday on the precipice of a split with party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav expelling his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and general secretary Ramgopal Yadav for six years after they put up candidates against the official nominees and summoned a party meet on Sunday.
The expulsion was dubbed by a defiant Ramgopal, Mulayam’s cousin, as “unconstitutional” even as the move plunged the party into an unprecedented crisis raising questions over the fate of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
On a day of fast-moving developments, hordes of frenzied Akhilesh supporters, especially the youth, thronged his residence to express their support.
Making the announcement at a press conference here, Mulayam said the new chief minister will be chosen by the Samajwadi Party.
With his brother Shivpal Yadav, who has been at loggerheads with the chief minister, by his side, Mulayam said he had taken the action against Akhilesh and Ramgopal to save the party which he had built through hard efforts.
“We have to save the party. The party comes first. That is why we are expelling both Akhilesh and Ramgopal,” he said.
He explained that the decision was taken after Ramgopal, in his capacity as general secretary, called an emergency meeting of the party on January 1 and Akhilesh “supported” it.
Ramgopal called the meeting after a show-cause notice was issued to him and Akhilesh by Mulayam for releasing a list of candidates, parallel to the one issued officially by Mulayam.
