Gangster’s Party Merger: Akhilesh Gets To Do His DP Yadav Act With A Difference

In the face of chaos and desperation in the party, Akhilesh Yadav is playing his part well, and trying to show that he is clean while his kin and party leaders mop up vote banks. To keep his image up, Chief Minister Yadav sacked his cabinet minister Balram Yadav on Tuesday evening for apparently facilitating the merger of Quami Ekta Dal (QED) of gangster Mukhtar Ansari with Samajwadi Party.

Ansari’s QED has significant hold in eastern UP’s Mau, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Varanasi and Ghazipur, cities with Muslim populations of 18 to 28 per cent. At stake are 40 seats.

The merger was engineered by cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav, who is brother of Akhilesh’s father and party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. It would not have happened without the consent of Mulayam. But Akhilesh is not happy and making it known in a brazenly open manner. He evaded a direct reply on the merger and said, “If party workers perform their responsibilities, then there was no need of another party.”

Akhilesh has been targeted for patronising ‘goonda raj’ in the state. He had successfully prevented another gangster DP Yadav’s entry into the party during the last assembly elections. On the eve of 2012 polls, Shivpal Yadav had welcomed DP Yadav into the party fold. But within a day, the decision had to be annulled because of strong resistance by Akhilesh Yadav.

However, sacking of Balram Yadav could an eyewash as Akhilesh is planning cabinet reshuffle this month. He may induct Balram Yadav’s son Sangram Singh.

This is how Tuesday (21, June) began for the Samajwadi Party. “QED is today merging with SP which would strengthen the party,” said Shivpal Yadav according to this Indian Express report at a press conference jointly addressed by him and Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari.

He added that Mukhtar was not among those who had joined the SP. “At present only those here are joining SP. We did not have any talk with Mukthar,” the report further quotes him as saying. At present, the mafia don is in jail for his alleged involvement in the murder of former BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.

“Today, both the brothers are coming back to home in Samajwadi Party with this merger. Their presence will strengthen the party in eastern UP,” said Shivpal according to another report, and termed it a homecoming for the QED leaders. Shivpal also added that Afzal had earlier been an MLA and MP from Samajwadi Party.

Meanwhile, BJP, which has raised the issue of Hindus migration from Kairana, said the merger showed that the ruling party was “dependent” on criminals to win Assembly polls since it no longer enjoys people’s support.

This Business Standard report quoted BJP’s secretary Shrikant Sharma as saying that: “The Akhilesh Yadav government does not have faith in people. It has faith in criminals and is dependent on them in the polls. We have seen earlier in Mathura land grab incident and Kairana issue that it shelters criminals. When people get the chance to give their verdict in the polls, they will teach it a lesson”