Samajwadi Party's "fight for supremacy" will benefit BJP in UP: Rita Bahuguna

Hours after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sacked his uncle Shivpal Yadav and three other ministers considered to be Amar Singh's loyalists from his Cabinet, the newly-joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Rita Bahuguna Joshi today took a jibe at the ongoing fight for supremacy within the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party and said that the fallout of this rift would immensely benefit the saffron party in the 2017 assembly polls.

She said the discontentment within the Samajwadi Party has taken an explosive situation where two factions, led by Shivpal on one side and Akhilesh on the other, are vying for financial and political power in the state.

"This is a fight for supremacy within the party but they are going to lose this election badly. This entire game is benefitting the BJP. Our party is doing well in UP, it is winning favours among the people because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the clean image of the party," Joshi told ANI.

Joshi further blamed Mulayam's second wife Sadhna Gupta and senior leaders Shivpal and Amar Singh for the present situation while adding that Mulayam has become too weak emotionally and is too confused as to whom to back in this hour of crisis.

"The discontentment that has been simmering within the Samajwadi Party has taken an explosive situation and clearly two family groups are fighting for power. This is a tussle for political as well as financial power and Mulayam has probably become too weak emotionally," she said.

"The entire fallout of Samajwadi Party is going to be tragic for the party but it will benefit the state," she added.

Narad Rai, Saiyyada Shadab Fatima and O.P. Singh are the other three leaders, who have been axed by the Chief Minister post the meeting called by him today.

Barabanki MLC Rajesh Yadav, who attended the meeting, lashed out at party leader Amar Singh for attempting to create friction in the Samajwadi Party.

"The party belongs to Netaji. He assigned the Chief Minister's job to Akhilesh Yadav, who managed it extremely well. He looked at both the party and family in a very efficient manner. Our fight is against those trying to create friction in the party and the one person who is doing this is Amar Singh," he told the media.

This came as a section of the Samajwadi Party leaders had earlier reportedly alleged that Amar Singh after coming back to the party was misinforming Mulayam Singh Yadav about the people and misleading him.

They also reportedly alleged that Amar Singh was making desperate attempts to portray Akhilesh as weak and prevent the Samajwadi Party from coming back to power.

Akhilesh had prior to today's meeting to discuss the power struggle within the party met his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Reports suggest that the conversation between the father and son duo mostly revolved around Ram Gopal Yadav's letter to the party workers asking them to stand behind his nephew.

The Chief Minister's action comes hours after Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav wrote a letter to party leaders to rally behind the former, thereby adding a major twist to the entire family tussle.

In his one-page letter, Ram Gopal stated that the Samajwadi Party would yet again form the government in Uttar Pradesh under Akhilesh's leadership.

Ram Gopal also said that there are some people within the party who are misleading the public ahead of the 2017 assembly polls.

He said that those behind his nephew were those who sacrificed their life and blood for the party while others were misusing their position for ulterior motives.