Lathar back as SP youth wing chief

Lathar was regarded as a close aide of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav when he was unceremoniously removed for his alleged indifference towards organisational work and serious complaints. He was at that time travelling with the CM in Agra.

Lathar is the second leader from Akhilesh’s close group of youths who was first axed and then reinstated. Earlier,the party’s national secretary Rajeev Rai was stripped of his post soon after the government formation in March on grounds that he overstepped the party line in a TV programme. After three months in exile,Rai was again made national secretary.

Hailing from Jind in Haryana,Lathar has been associated with the party for over a decade. He has been national president of Chatra Sabha,which is the students wing of SP. During the election campaign,he travelled extensively in Kranti Rath along with Akhilesh Yadav. After government formation,he often accompanied the Chief Minister at functions.

Later,when Manth Assembly seat in Mathura was vacated by Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Jayant Choudhary,Lathar was handpicked by Akhilesh to contest the by-election. Akhilesh even addressed a meeting in Manth in Lathar’s support and promised that he would be given a bigger responsibility after he won the election. However,Lathar finished third,but polled 50,039 votes,the highest by SP in the Manth constituency.