Akhilesh & Shivpal Yadav bury the hatchet, will share stage on Mulayam Singh's birthday

Hinting at yet another Yadav family reconciliation, sources reported on Monday, that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav will share the same stage on November 22 - celebrating patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav's birthday. Sources added that both Akhilesh and Mulayam Yadav have talked to Shivpal Yadav, softening their hostility towards the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) chief. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

Shivpal-Akhilesh bury hatchet?

Sources added that while PSPL will not merge with SP, Akhilesh Yadav has agreed to allow PSPL to contest on more than one seat. Previously, Shivpal alleged that while he had eyed an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav, he had received no 'positive reaction' from Akhilesh Yadav. Afterward, he met with Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)'s Om Prakash Rajbhar in Lucknow to stitch an alliance for the 2022 UP polls. Rajbhar heads the 'Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha' which comprises of AIMIM, SBSP, Apna Dal (Krishna Patel), Rashtroday Party, Rashtriya Bhagidari Party, and Janta Kranti Party.

In November 2020, Shivpal Yadav said, "For the 2022 elections, we will forge an alliance. Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party will exist and we will contest under the 'key' symbol. To remove BJP, we will ally - Samajwadi party is one such party, we are in talks with others too".

Later, Akhilesh Yadav ruled out alliances with any 'larger parties' for the Uttar Pradesh state elections in 2022. Yadav who has previously tied-up with Congress and Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), has stated that he was open to adjusting estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party with SP, offering him a cabinet seat. He also held talks with Mahan Dal, NCP and AAP as Mayawati has decided to fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand.

2017 Akhilesh-Shivpal split

In 2016, Akhilesh Yadav had faced a massive family feud - with his uncle Shivpal Yadav over who will take over the party's reins from patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. The then-SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had sided with his brother- Shivpal, throwing out then-CM Akhilesh Yadav and his cousin  Ram Gopal Yadav from the party for six years for releasing a separate list of 235 candidates for the 2017 polls, countering his father's 325 candidate-list. Later, Akhilesh was reinstated, who promptly threw out his uncle and replaced Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party chief. Amid these tumultuous family fights, Yadav stitched an alliance with Congress, which failed miserably, winning only 55 seats, while the BJP won 312 seats - ushering in Yogi Adityanath's maiden term.