From being the undisputed Gen Y leader of the erstwhile ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh to witnessing his political capital dwindle thick and fast, party president and former state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has indeed come a long way.
In less than two weeks, four party members of legislative council (MLC) have resigned from their seats, of which three have already joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
There are strong indications that more party MLCs are in the fray to resign and jump ship in the days and weeks to come.
However, in the face of such reverses and setbacks, Akhilesh remains belligerent and publically instead blames BJP and the turncoats, rather than introspecting or reaching out to these leaders, which the political watchers say reflects badly on the political acumen of the young leader.
All four party MLCs, who have resigned viz. Bukkal Nawab, Yashwant Singh, Sarojini Agarwal and Ambika Chaudhary have attributed their decision to quit to the alleged mistreatment meted out to Mulayam in the current party setup helmed by Akhilesh.
The bitter SP intraparty power struggle that had hogged the limelight for most of the last year and partly culminated with Akhilesh replacing his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party president, continues to hurt the party’s image and future prospects.
Besides, Akhilesh’s estranged uncle Shivpal has on regular intervals been firing salvos at his nephew over his purported neglect of Mulayam and being surrounded by sycophants and leaders having vested personal interests.
In another jolt on August 8, Lohia Trust chairman Mulayam had sacked four of Akhilesh loyalists from the Trust and instead inducted four close confidantes of Akhilesh’s uncle and bête noire Shivpal. Lohia Trust is a vital supportive organ of the SP.
Those removed from the Trust included Ram Govind Chaudhary, who is also the leader of opposition in UP assembly, Ahmad Hasan, Usha Verma and Alok Shakya. The new inductees included Shivpal’s close aide and a bitter critic of Akhilesh, Deepak Mishra, who was expelled from SP three months back, besides Ramsewak, Ramnaresh, and Rajesh Yadav.
Although Akhilesh and Ram Gopal Yadav, who are members of the Trust, were invited, they did not turn up at the meeting, apparently knowing the humiliating piece of news that was to follow.
Last month, SP Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agarwal had hosted a party in New Delhi to commemorate 25 years of Ram Gopal Yadav in Parliament, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not only made an appearance but waxed eloquent upon Yadav. Akhilesh had skipped the event, although he has aligned with Ram Gopal Yadav in the still smouldering power feud, pitted against Mulayam and Shivpal.
Since the opposition space in UP is in an utter disarray, Team Akhilesh is yet to pose any formidable challenge to the Yogi government, especially at a time when BSP president Mayawati has resigned from her Rajya Sabha seat and is gearing up to take on Modi in run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha poll.
