CM gets a poll role in UP give-and-take; Mulayam Singh Yadav signals Amar Singh important

Mulayam told them that Amar Singh — seen by a section in the SP as the catalyst for the current crisis — had stuck by him in his bad times, and that the decision to appoint Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav the state president of the SP was final, and should not be questioned.

In the evening, Mulayam had a meeting with Shivpal and Akhilesh, after which he decided that Akhilesh would be appointed chairman of the party’s state parliamentary board.

A formal announcement could be made on Sunday, party sources said.

The sources also said that a decision had been taken to replace the party’s state chief general secretary Arvind Singh Gope by Om Prakash Singh, the cabinet minister for tourism. Gope, who is considered close to Akhilesh, had replaced Om Prakash on the same post after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The party is also learnt to have decided to change its state spokesperson, Rajendra Chaudhary, who could be replaced by ex-minister Ambika Chaudhary. The SP’s chief spokesperson is Shivpal himself.

Around mid-morning, state presidents of four youth front organisations of the SP gathered at the party office on Vikramaditya Marg and quit their posts to demand that Akhilesh be given back the position of state party chief. Around the same time, the supporters of Shivpal had gathered outside his residence not far away.

The presidents of the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha, Lohia Wahini and Mulayam Singh Yadav Youth Brigade, accompanied by their supporters, raised slogans, “Desh mein, pradesh mein, vishwas hai Akhilesh mein (In the country and in the state, we trust in Akhilesh)”, and “Netaji nyay karo, Akhilesh ko adhyaksh bahal karo (Netaji, do justice to Akhilesh, appoint him state president).”

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Around 12.30, the protesters were called to the chief minister’s 5 Kalidas Marg residence, where he appealed to them not to agitate, raise slogans, erect hoardings, or display posters over ongoing issues within the party. He said, “Naujawan jis party ke saath chalta hai, uski sarkar banti hai, naujwan jis disha mein chalega… woh vichaardhara chalegi, naujawan jis disha mein jaega, sarkar usi ki banegi (The party that has the support of the youth will form the government, the thinking of the youth will reflect in the thinking of the party).”

The CM then went to meet Shivpal at his residence, and subsequently told reporters at a press conference that both his government and he personally would extend all support to his uncle.

The CM said he had congratulated the new state president personally, and asked other youth workers too to wish him success. “Netaji ne jise pradesh adhyaksh banaya hai, unhe main khud badhaai dekar aaya hoon,” he said. He did not mention his uncle by name.

The state president would have to bear all responsibilities of the party organisation up to the booth level to win the assembly elections, Akhilesh said.

More on the story: Fifth column: Thank you, Mulayam

In the meanwhile, even as the CM was addressing reporters, Mulayam summoned the protesting leaders of the four youth organisations for a closed-door meeting at the party headquarters. He spoke of the contributions of both \Akhilesh and Shivpal, and underscored that Amar Singh too was important for the party, sources said.

According to the sources, Mulayam pulled up the youth workers for demonstrating over an internal matter of the party, and disagreed with Akhilesh’s decision to divest Shivpal of key portfolios, and to remove Balram Yadav from the cabinet in June. Balram was re-inducted later.

Mulayam is learnt to have said that developments in the party and the government over the past four-five days have affected the SP. He is learnt to have commented that those occupying high posts (like that of the CM) should learn to take others along.

Balram, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and Amar Singh were important for the party, Mulayam said. Prajapati had defeated “Rani” (Congress leader Sanjay Sinh’s wife Ameeta Singh) in Amethi in 2012, and Amar Singh had supported him in his bad times, Mulayam told the workers.

Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha state president Digvijay Singh later said that the party had not accepted the resignations of the front organisation leaders.

Meanwhile, acting on a letter sent by Akhilesh on Friday, Governor Ram Naik re-allocated the portfolios of Irrigation and Flood Control, Revenue, Disaster and Rehabilitation and Public Service Management, and Cooperatives, along with the new portfolios of Medical Education, AYUSH and Minor Irrigation to Shivpal.

The key portfolio of Public works Department (PWD) has, however, not been returned. A post on the official Twitter handle of the UP chief minister’s office had announced on Friday evening that “Portfolios will be given back to Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav”.

PWD had been with Shivpal since 2012, when the SP came to power. On Tuesday, the CM divested him of the portfolio, along with several others. PWD is with Akhilesh now.

The CM also requested the Governor to administer the oath of office to Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, whom he had sacked from the ministry on Monday but agreed to reinduct after Mulayam intervened. The Governor will decide the date and time of the ceremony after consulting with the CM.