Samajwadi Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday downplayed the move by his uncle Shivpal Yadav to launch a separate political front, Samajwadi Secular Morcha.
Speaking at a media house event in Lucknow, the former chief minister said that the development showed that there was no nepotism in the Samajwadi Party. When asked about the announcement by Shivpal Yadav that his front would contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 general elections, Akhilesh responded with, “Good.”
He further said, "A lot of things, political missiles will be fired at election time. There is no annoyance and we respect uncle." The Samajwadi Party chief further said that he would not reveal the strategy of his party or other opposition parties.
The Yadav scion, however, added that the results would be akin to the results in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana by-elections. Targeting Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman Narendra Modi, the Samajwadi Party chief said that the country was waiting for a new Prime Minister.
Shivpal Yadav had on Friday said that he would form an alliance with smaller parties and united those “neglected and humiliated”.
"We will be tying up with smaller parties and unite those neglected and humiliated and contest the polls with full strength. Without our support no government will be formed at the Centre," Shivpal Yadav had told reporters in Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh.
Yadav, the estranged uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, had said that his political front would also do well in the next Assembly elections. "We will emerge as a strong party in the 2022 assembly polls," he said.
Shivpal Yadav had launched the new outfit on August 29, complaining that he had been sidelined in the Samajwadi Party.
