oppn parties What's Brewing in the Samajwadi Party?

Story Of The Day

A 2,458-Point Rally Is Not Yet A Recovery

November 07, 2026

People Are Talking About

People Are Talking About Junk Food Near Schools

News Snippets

  • Supreme Court questions the continuing relevance of two-child norms. The Court observed that falling fertility rates have weakened the population-control rationale behind laws disqualifying people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. It referred the issue to a larger Bench for consideration
  • Supreme Court declines to shift Tirupati laddu case outside Andhra Pradesh. The Court rejected a plea seeking transfer of the trial, despite arguments that political statements by Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister could affect the fairness of proceedings
  • Supreme Court transfers Azam Khan's fresh ED bail plea to Allahabad High Court. The apex court declined to consider the Samajwadi Party leader's bail request in a fresh Enforcement Directorate case and directed that it be listed before a division Bench of the High Court on November 16
  • Two killed in Delhi building collapse; contractor booked. Two bodies were recovered after a building collapsed in Chawri Bazaar. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the contractor had been booked and the concerned junior and assistant engineers suspended
  • Uttar Pradesh voter rolls show a 2.4-crore discrepancy. A difference of approximately 2.4 crore names has been reported between the state's panchayat and rural Assembly voter lists. The Election Commission has ordered the two sets of rolls to be matched
  • Gujarat announces 3% dearness allowance hike. The state government announced a three-percentage-point increase in dearness allowance for government employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali
  • Sensex and Nifty post their strongest single-day gains in months. The Sensex surged 2,008.61 points, or 2.60%, to close at 79,310.01, while the Nifty 50 climbed 576 points, or 2.40%, to 24,536.60. Financial and automobile stocks led the rally, supported by falling crude prices and renewed foreign investor buying
  • Maaya Rajeshwaran reaches WTA-level quarter-final. The 17-year-old Indian defeated Poland's Weronika Falkowska 6-4, 6-3, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a quarter-final at a WTA Tour-level singles event
  • Tanvi Patri reaches Youth Olympics badminton final. The 15-year-old defeated Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe in the semi-final, assuring India of a medal and becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach the girls' singles final at the Youth Olympics
  • India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship. India defeated Pakistan in a closely contested match, having led 3-0 before conceding two late goals. The victory was reported as a significant result for India's second-string side
  • India beat Japan 4-1 to win a record sixth Asian Champions Trophy. India recovered from an early deficit to defeat Japan in the final at Mohali, extending its record as the tournament's most successful men's team
  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants the CEC and Election Commissioners protection from legal proceedings for acts performed in their official duties. The petition argues that such blanket immunity could leave citizens without an effective remedy for alleged wrongdoing by the Commission
  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
Stock markets on fire due to US results, Sensex gains 2008 points to reach its highest level in 8 months
oppn parties
What's Brewing in the Samajwadi Party?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2016-09-14 15:30:39

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
Why Shivpal?
It is well known that Mulayam Singh Yadav has a soft corner for his younger brother Shivpal Yadav. It is equally well known that the Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo also loves his son Akhilesh. Hence, what is brewing in UP has come as a huge surprise to observers.

Attack and counter-attack
Mulayam removed Akhilesh from the post of state party chief and installed Shivpal in his place. Miffed by this, Akhilesh struck back immediately by stripping uncle Shivpal of all his important ministerial portfolios.Earlier, Akhilesh had removed some ministers and bureaucrats close to Shivpal Yadav.

Are swords being drawn?
Have the father and son duo drawn swords against each other? Further, is the close-knit family starting to break up? Shivpal Yadav has many followers within the SP and Mulayam fears a split if he is sidelined.

The other son
Mulayam has another son, Prateek, whose mother Sadhana Gupta Yadav is the second wife of the UP strongman. During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, some party workers had asked him to let Prateek fight the elctions from Azamgarh. This was not acceptable to Akhilesh. To prevent matters from escalating, Mulayam decided to fight from two seats, including Azamgarh. But that was then. Is Prateek now staking his claim and is that the reason Mulayam is putting down Akhilesh?

Camps building up in SP
With the state already in assembly election mode, there will be several realignments. A lackluster tenure from Akhilesh has meant that SP has lost a lot of ground. There is discontent in the party regarding Akhilesh’s leadership. Recent events have shown that camps, both for and against Akhilesh, are building up fast.

Change of guard
SP workers see the reemergence of Mayawati and her party as a big threat to their backward class constituency. On the other hand, with the BJP working to consolidate the Hindu votes and wooing Dalits, some SP leaders fear a total washout. A change of guard is increasingly being preferred by many to fight anti-incumbency.

Too many questions
So is what is being seen on the surface as a family feud actually the beginning of a realignment of forces within the Samajwadi Party? Will it mean that Akhilesh will be sidelined in the run up to the polls? Will Mulayam take the reins in his hands? Or will we see the emergence of an unwilling Prateek as a counterfoil to Akhilesh?

Not all is well between father and son
The coming weeks will bring the answers to these questions. But one thing is clear – not all is good between Mulayam and Akhilesh and a willing Shivpal Yadav is being used by Mulayam to convey that.

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

A Bench in Chennai Is Not the Answer to a Bench in Every Capital

A Bench in Chennai Is Not the Answer to a Bench in Every Capital

 Gold At Astana Must Become a System, Not a Story

Gold At Astana Must Become a System, Not a Story

In Depth

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Editor's Pick

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.