Mulayam to chair SP parliamentary board meeting after Shivpal's resignation

Lucknow [India], Sept. 16 (ANI): Mulayam Singh Yadav will today chair a parliamentary board meeting of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Lucknow to put an end to the fight between his son Akhilesh Yadav and brother Shivpal Singh Yadav. Yesterday night, newly-appointed Samajwadi Party (SP) Uttar Pradesh chief Shivpal resigned from the state cabinet as well as from all the posts of party held by him. Shivpal tendered his resignation to Akhilesh Yadav after meeting his elder brother and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state capital. However, the Chief Minister did not accept his resignation. Mulayam yesteday summoned Shivpal, who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, and held closed door meeting with him to defuse the situation. Shivpal later met Akhilesh at his official residence, but the meeting lasted only 15 minutes. Earlier on September 13, Akhilesh stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with his uncle as the party's state unit chief. Shivpal, the younger brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav, could be seen completely powerless as Akhilesh kept the PWD portfolio with himself, while Avdhesh Prasad had been given the charge of Irrigation and Flood Control department and Balram Yadav, the additional charge of Revenue and many other departments, currently being held by Shivpal thus, bringing down the number of ministries held by him from ten to just two. Earlier in the day, party national general secretary Ramgopal had met the Chief Minister and claimed that "Akhilesh is not angry with anyone and the decision of Neta ji (Mulayam) is final in the party." He said that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding" even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh. Earlier on Wednesday, speaking at a function in Lucknow, Akhilesh, who chose the day to tweet about the start of his poll campaign on October 3, said "outsiders" were interfering in the affairs of the family and the party. Earlier, Shivpal Yadav had reportedly announced the party's first list of 142 candidates for the 2017 polls. Disagreements between Akhilesh and his uncle have been reported on several occasions, including on the choice of official to be appointed as the state's chief secretary after Alok Ranjan's term ended, and the postponement of Qaumi Ekta Dal's merger with Samajwadi Party. (ANI)