Will Shivpal Singh Yadav join BJP?

Sources in the BJP said that Shivpal might be sent to Rajya Sabha by the saffron party

After a brief truce, sharp differences again cropped up between Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav barely days after the state assembly polls results were declared triggering speculations that the latter might join the BJP.

The speculations started doing the rounds after Shivpal met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at the latter's residence here on Wednesday and was closeted with him for around half an hour. The meeting came days after Akhilesh was elected leader of the SP legislature party at a meeting of the newly elected party MLAs to which Shivpal was not invited.

When asked if he could join the BJP, Shivpal remained evasive and said that he would disclose his future course of action soon.

Also Read | SP should decide on merger or alliance with his party quickly: Shivpal Yadav

According to the sources, an upset Shivpal met the SP patron and his elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi and expressed his outrage for not being invited to the SP legislature party meeting. Shivpal had also met senior BJP leaders in Delhi, sources said.

Sources in the BJP said that Shivpal, who was an MLA from Jaswant Nagar seat in Etawah district, might be sent to Rajya Sabha by the saffron party and his son Aditya Yadav might be fielded from Jaswant Nagar as a BJP candidate.

Shivpal, who had formed his own outfit Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party after being expelled from the SP by Akhilesh in 2016, and Akhilesh buried their differences before the state assembly polls. Shivpal contested on the SP symbol and had also campaigned for the party.

Sources said that Shivpal had handed over a list of 25 candidates to Akhilesh urging him to nominate them if he thought they stood a chance of winning but none of them was given the SP ticket. He had also met Akhilesh a few days back and sought a bigger responsibility for him at the party but the latter did not give him any assurance.

''Shivpal's joining the BJP, if that happens, will be huge humiliation for Akhilesh and also a setback as the former wielded some influence over the Yadav community, which is considered to be the core voters of the SP,'' said a senior BJP leader here.

Although Shivpal's party, which had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, could not win any seat, it certainly affected SP's prospects on at least four to six seats. Shivpal, who had contested against Akshay Yadav, his nephew, from the Firozabad LS seat, ensured the defeat of the latter by bagging around one lakh votes. Akshay's margin of defeat was less than one lakh. Similarly, he also played spoilsport at Kannauj, Etawah and some other seats.

Earlier Aparna Yadav, the wife of Akhilesh's cousin Prateek, had joined the BJP days before the polls.

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