Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav spilt in two folds on Friday when his younger brother Shivpal Yadav announced the formation of a new political front called 'Samajwadi Secular Morcha'.
According to news agency ANI, the new political outfit floated by Shivpal will be headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The development comes after several months of infighting within the party, compounded by a crushing electoral defeat in UP.
Shivpal Yadav, who was in news over a bitter struggle for power for control over the Samajwadi Party with his estranged cousin and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, said the new party will bring all ''Samajwadis'' on a single platform.
This is being done to restore respect of Netaji (Mulayam), Shivpal said.
The senior SP leader had on many occasions in past hinted that he would launch a campaign to unite “samajwadis”.
Shivpal Yadav had even asked his cousin Akhilesh Yadav to hand over the reins of the SP to his father Mulayam, failing which, he had warned, a new political front will be floated.
“Akhilesh had promised to hand over the party to ‘netaji’ [Mulayam]. He should now do so and we all will strengthen the SP. I had also given him three months’ time. Otherwise, I will constitute a new secular front,” Shivpal had said in Etawah.
The SP witnessed a bitter feud between Shivpal and Akhilesh in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
The SP contested the polls under Akhilesh’s leadership but suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP.
After filing his nomination for the polls in January, Shivpal had said he would form a new party after the election results are declared. But, subsequently he said there was no such move.
