Defectors silver in Akhilesh Yadav’s new team, Shivpal is also not happy about getting a smaller post than Ramgopal

After a long wait, Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is busy preparing for Mission-2024, has announced the National Executive of the Samajwadi Party, but there are differences within the party regarding the leaders who have been given a place in the executive. If the opposition is also questioning the new executive committee of the SP, why did Akhilesh Yadav elevate Shivpal Yadav to the fifth position by giving Professor Ram Gopal Yadav the number two position in the Samajwadi Party, while the Samajwadi Party Shivpal Yadav knows the pulse of India more than Ramgopal Yadav. Similarly, it is also being asked whether the Samajwadi Party has a shortage of its own leaders, due to which it has to take the help of leaders from outside.

Well, caste, age and society have been taken full care of in the National Executive of the Samajwadi Party. In the 64 faces of the executive, 10 Yadavs, nine Muslims, five Kurmis, four Brahmins, seven Dalits and 16 most backward class leaders have been kept. The previous executive committee of SP had 55 members. That is, this time nine members have been increased. The previous executive committee of the SP included seven Yadavs, eight Muslims, three Brahmins, three Kurmis, five Dalits and 11 OBCs. Family members have also been given important responsibility in the National Executive. Till now, after Akhilesh Yadav, Professor Ram Gopal Yadav and his son Akshay Yadav were included in the executive. Now Shivpal Singh Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav have also been included in the executive.

Of the 10 Yadavs in the new executive committee of SP, six are family members. Like before, five women have also been included in the executive. Juhi Singh has been removed from the executive committee and the outgoing state president of the Mahila Sabha, Lilavati Kushwaha, has been replaced in her place. Shivpal Singh Yadav’s colleagues have not received any attention in the National Executive. Shivpal Yadav is also not liking this thing that those who went with Shivpal at the time of separation from SP have been kept away from the executive but he is busy in saving his politics.

In the National Executive, Ram Gopal Yadav has been given the responsibility of National Chief General Secretary. In this executive, uncle Shivpal Yadav has been made the national general secretary. At the same time, Swami Prasad Maurya, who is involved in controversies, has also been given the responsibility of the National General Secretary. Along with this, Sundeep Ranjan Sen has been made the national treasurer and Kiranmoy Nanda as the national vice president. While 14 leaders have been made the National General Secretaries of the party. The party has given the responsibility of national secretaries to 17 leaders and has made 21 leaders national secretaries.

In fact, the reason for the dispute is that 14 national general secretaries have been appointed in the new 64-member executive body announced by Akhilesh Yadav. Among these 14 general secretaries, there are half a dozen leaders who have recently joined Samajwadi Party and have nothing to do with SP’s ideology, but they have been entrusted with the important post of general secretary. The most shocking thing is that Akhilesh has created the post of Chief General Secretary in the executive and has made Professor Ramgopal Yadav sit on it i.e. Shivpal Yadav who has returned to the Samajwadi Party after 6 years after voicing his displeasure, will have to work under Professor Saheb. . While the political competition between Professor Saheb and Shivpal Yadav is not hidden from anyone. From the time of Mulayam, these two leaders used to conspire against each other to increase supremacy in the party, this process continues unabated till today. But the difference is that during Mulayam’s time, Shivpal Yadav’s tuti used to speak and Professor used to follow him, while now during Akhilesh’s time, Professor has become ‘super’ than Shivpal Yadav.

In the list of National General Secretary of SP, on one hand veteran old leaders like Azam Khan, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad are included. At the same time, the party has also made 6 such leaders, who had recently joined the SP, as general secretaries. Among them the names of Ram Achal Rajbhar, Swami Prasad Maurya, Salim Sherwani, Harendra Mallik and Lalji Verma are prominent. These six defection leaders have a history of changing parties depending on the political wind. The first name in this is that of Swami Prasad Maurya, who is in discussion for making controversial remarks on Ramcharit Manas. It was expected that Swamy would be sidelined in the Samajwadi Party due to his controversial remarks on Ramcharitmanas, but Akhilesh was seen as a backward and Dalit vote bank in the Ramcharitmanas controversy.

Swami Prasad Maurya, who was a minister in the Mayawati and Yogi governments, had joined the SP just before the 2022 UP Legislative Assembly elections. Swami Prasad is counted among the big leaders of Maurya caste in UP. Mauryas have the second largest population of OBC castes in UP after Yadavs. Maurya’s daughter Sanghamitra Maurya is currently the BJP MP from Badaun. Swami Prasad Maurya dominates the three Lok Sabha seats, Badayun, Kushinagar and Pratapgarh. Swami Prasad, a resident of Pratapgarh district, has been an MLA from Padrauna in Kushinagar. He lost the assembly elections in 2022. Swami Prasad Maurya has also held the responsibility of State President in BSP and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.

Talking about another outside leader Salim Sherwani, who has been made the general secretary, veteran leader of Ruhelkhand Salim Sherwani joined the Samajwadi Party in 2020 after breaking ties with the Congress. Sherwani has been a minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s government. He has been dominating the Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur and Budaun Lok Sabha seats in Ruhilkhand. It is another matter that in spite of living in the SP of Sherwani, the SP could not do any charisma in these areas even in the 2022 elections. In such a situation, Akhilesh Yadav is trying to play here in 2024 on the basis of Sherwani. Talking about Ram Achal Rajbhar, who was made another leader and general secretary, Ram Achal Rajbhar, who was a minister in every government of Mayawati, rode a bicycle in 2022. Rajbhar has been in the BSP from the state president to the national general secretary and was once considered very close to Mayawati. Ram Achal Rajbhar’s rise in stature was expected after Om Prakash Rajbhar left the SP alliance. Rajbhar voters have a lot of influence in many seats of Purvanchal. Ram Achal comes from Ambedkar Nagar and has become MLA for the sixth consecutive time from Akbarpur seat. Rajbhar’s direct impact is on Ambedkar Nagar, Ghoshi and Ghazipur seats. All these seats are currently held by the BSP.

Lalji Verma, once a close aide of BSP supremo, also joined SP along with Ram Achal Rajbhar. Lalji Verma was once a part of Mayawati’s kitchen cabinet. Like Rajbhar, Lalji Verma, who has been a minister in every government of Mayawati, is currently an MLA from Katehri. Maurya comes from Kurma community, whose population is highest in districts like Mirzapur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj. Lalji Verma has hold on Balrampur and Ambedkar Nagar seats. In such a situation, Akhilesh has played a big bet by making him the general secretary.

The matter of Indrajit Saroj came from outside that SP has again made Indrajit Saroj, the architect of Kaushambi model, the general secretary. Saroj is the MLA from Majhanagar in Kaushambi and the deputy leader of the SP in the assembly. Saroj was also counted among the leaders close to Mayawati at one time. In 2019, he also contested the elections on a BSP ticket, but was defeated. When the alliance between BSP and SP broke, Indrajeet rode on a bicycle. Indrajit Saroj belongs to the Pasi caste, which dominates the Hardoi, Kaushambi and Misrikh seats. All the three seats are currently held by the BJP. On the other hand, Jat leader Harendra Malik, who was made the national general secretary of SP, left Congress and joined SP just before the 2022 elections. Malik was an advisor to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi. Malik, a four-time MLA and one-time MP, will strengthen the organization in West UP. Malik is believed to have a strong hold on the seats of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. Also, he has old experience of doing politics in Jatland. With their help, Akhilesh, engaged in Mission 2024, is also eyeing the seats in western UP.

-Ajay Kumar