Family rift may upset SP’s game plan in Purvanchal

The ugly rift within Yadav clan continued even as the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav went on to clear the air, saying that “my family and party stand united.”  But the presence of all four expelled ministers including Shivpal Yadav caught the main attraction. The absence of Chief Minister of the state and Mulayam’s son Akhilesh Yadav also formed an uncertainty over the party’s future. 

However political experts argued that the presence of all four ministers not only expresses party president’s support towards them but it also shows them the doorway to retrieve power. Many theories have been floating around the UP politics but notably apart from Shivpal Yadav other three ministers,  Narad Rai, Om Prakash and Shabad Fatima belong to “Purvanchal” (East Uttar Pradesh). 

Purvanchal has always captured a prime position of poll strategies as it shares the maximum percentage of entire population of the largest state. It has four major economic zones, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur and Azamgarh. There has been a political demand to create a separate state by carving out 17 districts in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. The Purvanchal area is represented by 30 parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 117 legislators in the 403 members of the UP Assembly.

PM Modi represents Varanasi constitution in Lok Sabha, which is the state’s tourism, economy and education hub. Even with the leadership of State President of UP of the party Keshav Prasad Maurya, BJP seems to be gaining political advantage this time as the number of party carders has been increased.

Another largest political party Congress is also not lacking behind. Political strategist of the party Prashant Kishore is also trying to woo Purvanchal and has planned out several pre-poll rallies. 

In 2012 Assembly poll, incumbent SP won 106 seats out of 170 as this portion shares the maximum number of minority population. But for SP the family spat has caused commotion in the state which is headed for Assembly election in few months. Political experts feel unless the party is able to solve this crisis fast, it will head the party for a debacle and opposition parties like BJP, BSP and Congress may gain extra marks during the upcoming UP Assembly polls.