Is Shivpal Yadav Returning To The Samajwadi Party?

Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohiya (PSP) president Shivpal Singh Yadav, who earlier left the Samajwadi Party (SP) before the 2017 Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections, hinted once again to become a part of the SP just before the 2022 UP elections. On a question asked about the possibility of a return to the SP, Shivpal said that he would consider this if given a suitable position in the party. He also stressed that members of the mafia should not be allowed to enter the Samajwadi Party.

No entry for mafia in the party

"The mafia never came to the Samajwadi Party. Mafias should not be taken. I had also not taken any (mafias). I was the state president (of the SP) and no mafia came to us. We never took Mukhtar Ansari," Yadav told reporters on Wednesday (1 September) evening.

When asked about the inclusion of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother Sibgatullah in the SP in the past, Yadav, however, said that he parted ways with the party after Mukhtar's brother Afzal Ansari and Sibgatullah joined the SP.

Spat over ‘Ansari brothers’

It is noteworthy that in September 2016, there arose major differences between the then chief minister and current SP President Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal, allegedly over the inclusion of Mukhtar and his brother Afzal Ansari in the SP. Shivpal was seen to be advocating for the inclusion of the Ansari brothers in the SP, while Akhilesh was reportedly against it. Ultimately, Shivpal broke ties with the SP and formed his own political outfit- the PSP.

Asked whether he would return to the SP, Yadav said, “If I get due honour, I would consider returning to the Samajwadi family.” However, he said that the Samajwadi parivar should forget everything and unite to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Yadav earlier said that his party is ready to merge with the SP, to which SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that “now is not the time”.

The family of Mukhtar Ansari has also once again joined the SP. Sibgatullah Ansari, who once formed the Quami Ekta Dal, along with his followers, also became a member of the SP recently. Apart from this, Ambika Chaudhary, a former revenue minister who went to the BSP after Shivpal's exit and is a popular leader in eastern UP, has also joined the SP. Both these leaders have also been close to Shivpal.

It is believed that after the return of all the leaders of his faction to the SP, now Shivpal is all set to join hands with the SP. Yadav has recently hinted that his son Aditya will contest from Jaswant Nagar seat of Firozabad.

Akhilesh Yadav recently stated that all parties with socialist ideology are welcome in the SP in the upcoming assembly elections. He stressed that the alliance would be made only with parties with socialist ideology.

Thus, an alliance or a merger between the SP and the PSP-Lohiya seems highly probable.