 "Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav with Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and party state president Shivpal Yadav at a programme in Lucknow. Photo: PTI")
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday taunted the ongoing feud between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his bete noire uncle Shivpal Yadav, saying the first family of the Samajwadi Party should resolve the 'mahabharat' and focus on law and order, corruption and lack of administration in the politically crucial state.
BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli also used the occasion to take a jibe at reports suggesting the possibility of a 'mahagathbandhan' in the run-up to 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
"However, in the first family of the Samajwadi Party of Uttar Pradesh a 'mahabharat' is already on for quite some time. Now, it appears that there are multiple lists - one by the uncle, one by the nephew who is the Chief Minister and there are all sorts of disputes. They should resolve that," Kohli said.
"As far as the people of Uttar Pradesh are concerned, they are obviously going to vote on the track record of the Samajwadi Party. The substantial issues are law and order, corruption and the lack of administration," he added.
The tussle in Uttar Pradesh's ruling family reignited on Sunday after Akhilesh drew up his own list of poll candidates and submitted it to Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, bypassing his uncle and state president Shivpal Yadav.
The Chief Minister's surprise move angered Shivpal, who is officially in-charge of ticket distribution in consultation with the party president.
Shivpal tweeted that ticket distribution would be decided by "victory potential".
"The party will not tolerate any indiscipline that might hurt the party's image," he tweeted.
According to sources, Akhilesh while reviewing the list of candidates for 403 assembly seats expressed concern over the party giving 181 tickets to 'tainted' persons.
This is not the first time that Akhilesh and his uncle have clashed over tickets distribution. The Chief Minister, who is of the view that his image and record is party's strength, had earlier this month expressed displeasure over the decision to field don-turned politicians Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibaqtullah Ansari for upcoming elections.
The Ansari brothers belong to Quami Ekta Dal, which recently merged with the party despite opposition from Akhilesh.
Mulayam has so far made all attempts to engineer a truce between his son and brother, but seat allotment has remained a thorny issue in the Samajwadi Party.
