Mulayam launches fresh efforts to unite clan

After Samajwadi Party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections, party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has launched fresh efforts to end acrimony between his son Akhilesh and brother Shivpal, sources in the party have said.

Over the past few days, Mulayam separately met Akhilesh and Shivpal, and the entire clan to settle the differences, they said.

The meetings have taken place in Delhi and Saifai in Uttar Pradesh.

His initial efforts have not yielded much results as Shivpal has refused to merge his Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party with the SP which he had left in August last year.

He has blamed cousin and SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav for the split in the clan.

But, the sources claimed that Shivpal is not averse to contesting the coming 12 bypolls to the Uttar Pradesh assembly with the SP.

Nine BJP and one MLA each from SP and BSP won the Lok Sabha elections. Another vacancy was created when a BJP MLA was disqualified upon his conviction in a murder case.

Mulayam is learnt to have told Shivpal and Akhilesh that if the clan does not unite, it may face severe political consequences.

Mulayam initiated the efforts to settle differences between Shivpal and Akhilesh after the LS poll results when the SP-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance failed miserably.

Shivpal's party was blamed by SP and BSP for splitting Yadav votes.

Akhikesh's wife Dimple and cousins Dharmendra and Akshay faced defeats in the Lok Sabha elections.