Akhilesh also sacked four other ministers -- Narad Rai, Om Prakash, Shadab Fatima, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati -- all considered close to Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is also the state unit chief of the Samajwadi Party (SP).
The development comes as a jolt to the efforts at truce between the two warring factions in the ruling Samajwadi Party.
It indicates the party is heading towards something big, sources told IANS.