Akhilesh's Uncle Shivpal Yadav Dissolves All Party Units Amid Talk of BJP Tie-Up

The Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) said the dissolution of units was just a 'routine exercise'.

File photo of Shivpal Singh Yadav with Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.

(Photo: Akhilesh Yadav/Twitter)

Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) chief and estranged uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav, has dissolved all its state working committees, national and state working cells and spokespersons, as per an official statement on Friday, 15 April.

The development has intensified speculations that Shivpal Yadav may join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which swept the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in March. Aditya Yadav, the national general secretary of PSP-L and Shivpal's son, announced the dissolution order.

However, the party said it was just a 'routine exercise'. Deepak Mishra, the party spokesperson, said, "This is a routine exercise that most political parties do post assembly or Lok Sabha elections. And then reconstitute and reorganise the outfit for the next elections," reported Hindustan Times.

This comes after Shivpal Yadav held a meeting with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for what he claims was a ‘courtesy visit’ last month.

After years of family feud, Shivpal parted ways with SP five years ago to start PSP. However, in December last year, Akhilesh met with his uncle at his residence in Lucknow for reconciliation and announced that they will contest UP Assembly polls together.

The PSP-L chief contested from Jaswantnagar seat in the Etawah district on SP’s symbol, becoming a six-time MLA.

Although SP made considerable gains in the 2022 polls, UP saw another saffron wave as the BJP and its allies won 273 seats.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)