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Ominous silence ahead of the proverbial storm
Reduced to an all-time low of 47 in its 25th year, rumblings have begun in the erstwhile ruling party, which now has a hugely diminished aura and numbers in the 17th Vidhan Sabha. The first murmurs were heard even as results poured in and it became evident that the SP would touch a new low and the BJP a new high – a landslide of 325 seats along with its allies.
Lucknow: Reduced to an all-time low of 47 in its 25th year, rumblings have begun in the erstwhile ruling party, which now has a hugely diminished aura and numbers in the 17th Vidhan Sabha. The first murmurs were heard even as results poured in and it became evident that the SP would touch a new low and the BJP a new high – a landslide of 325 seats along with its allies.
It was only after the results were announced that SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was edged out by his Chief Minister son, Akhilesh Yadav, as the national president of the party on January 1, went, for the first time, to the Janeshwar Mishra Trust – which housed the war room of the Congress and SP alliance.
A stone's throw from his sprawling 5, Vikramaditya Marg, bungalow on Panch Bangalia, the tense-looking Yadav chieftain reportedly had gone to meet with and console party workers. He, however, was there for just five-odd minutes and left when he saw his son. Akhilesh, though, is said to have hurriedly pulled himself together and touched his father's feet.
Mulayam said nothing and just drove away. He later left for the airport and flew to Saifai, their native village, for the annual Holi celebrations, almost a ritual for the family. Insiders say the swords are out and soon a "pitched battle would be fought in the open" in the SP. Shivpal Singh Yadav, who was locked in a bitter feud for power within the party since October last year and was completely sidelined in the assembly elections, is now waiting for his turn to strike.
Shivpal, who won from Jaswantnagar yet again with a huge margin, now stands vindicated. During the infighting, he had openly told Akhilesh that he was on a suicidal mission with the likes of Ram Gopal Yadav and the young brigade that included Udayveer Singh, Sanjay Lathar, Sunil Singh Sajan and other close aides. Both Mulayam and Shivpal had forewarned Akhilesh about having any truck with the Congress.
While Mulayam, in an informal chat on Holi eve, told some close aides that Akhilesh alone could not be held responsible for the rout, and added that "anger of Shivpal and Amar Singh was understandable," he is also learnt to be very cut up with Akhilesh. He privately holds him and him alone responsible for the party's disastrous show at the hustings, a close aide informed. For now there is an ominous silence in the Yadav clan and in the SP, which, many feel, could be the proverbial calm before the storm.
By Mohit Dubey
