SP family puts up united show on Deepawali

The chances of resolution of differences within the warring Samajwadi Party (SP) family members brightened up on Thursday as the party national president Akhilesh Yadav and his estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav celebrated Deepawali together at Saifai, their native village.

The entire SP family, including party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary and latter’s younger cousin Ram Gopal Yadav, all shared the stage during the celebrations.

On Wednesday, Mulayam had met Ram Gopal at Saifai after almost a year and reportedly discussed ways to resolve the crisis.

Sources said that a compromise formula had been thrashed out according to which Shivpal is likely to be offered a respectable position in the party.

Though Mulayam and Shivpal failed to find a place in the newly constituted SP national executive, sources said that both of them could be accommodated in the next few days.

Shivpal’s supporters are also likely to be “adjusted’’ in the organisation, the sources added.

“Shivpal may be offered party general secretary post for accepting Akhilesh’s leadership,” a senior SP leader and a close aide of Akhilesh said.

Akhilesh had removed Mulayam as party’s national president and Shivpal as the national general secretary at a hurriedly convened national convention of the SP here last year.