It was a free for all at the Samajwadi Party meeting in Lucknow on Tuesday as party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, his son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav tried to humiliate and intimidate each other.
Sources say that Mulayam will make one more patch up bid, but going by Monday's happenings, that looks increasingly unlikely. After washing dirty linen in public, it will be hard for all of them to get past it.
The bone of contention was Amar Singh, Rajya Sabha member and Party General Secretary. While Mulayam publicly took his brother Shivpal Yadav and Singh's side, Akhilesh cursed at and accused the absent Singh in front of his father and uncle.
The workers' meet had been called by Mulayam inside the party office and the present media was not permitted to shoot videos. After preliminary speeches, Akhilesh Yadav was given the chance to speak first from the Yadav clan.
Akhilesh assured workers that he did not inten1d to split the party, but accused Singh of vendetta against him. "I only sacked those who are close to Amar Singh and they will not be tolerated in this government. And yes, I didn't consult anyone," he said. This left Shivpal and Mulayam visibly embarrassed. Akhilesh didn't stop there, saying that he too needed to take care of his career.
"It is a lie that Ram Gopal Yadav asked me to sack Shivpal," said the Chief Minister. Though he kept praising his father in his speech, the bitterness was there for all to see.
Shivpal, who didn't waste time on niceties, didn't even bother to acknowledge the Chief Minister. When the crowd booed, he said, "I know who is sitting on the stage."
Mincing no words, Shivpal then proceeded to confront Akhilesh. "I joined politics the year you were born. I did cycle yatras even before you thought of cycle as an idea for the election symbol" he said.
Getting even more personal, Shivpal went on to accuse Akhilesh of lying to his father. "I swear in the name of my son that Akhilesh himself told me that he would split the party," he said.
Making an emotional pitch, Shivpal then told workers that he has worked harder than anyone for the good of the party. He said, "I would meet Akhilesh even when he wasn't interested in seeing me." Then turning towards his brother Mulayam, he said. "Enough is enough and this indiscipline has to be curbed. Allow me to expel people from the party," said Shivpal.
The situation then took a turn for the worse as supporters of Akhilesh tried to boo him down. But Shivpal was not to be put out. "I can also get a crowd. We also know how to organise these things. So don't try these tricks on me," he told the crowd.
It seemed the situation could not get any worse for the Samajwadi party, but Shivpal's last comment stunned everyone. "Aap log Amar Singh ke paanv ke dhool ke barabar bhi nahi ho. (You are not even equal to the dust on Amar Singh's feet)," he told the crowd.
In the end, Shivpal requested Mulayam to take charge of the party.
Finally, it came to the moment that everyone had been waiting—their 'Netaji', as Mulayam Singh Yadav is called, to speak. Mulayam began by accusing his son Akhilesh of "neglecting Muslims" and said he would be "thrown out of the party" if he didn't behave.
He said Shivpal had been there for him during the days of his struggle during the Emergency, something he would never forget. He also handed over a piece of advice to Akhilesh: "Those who cannot listen to criticism cannot become leaders."
What surprised everyone was the manner in which Mulayam defended Singh. He said that Singh had come to his and his family's rescue in a case which could have landed all of them in trouble.
"Both Shivpal and I will not leave Amar Singh because he came to our rescue when no one else did. We need to at least acknowledge our gratitude," he said.
Apart from the Singh issue, Mulayam continued to give son Akhilesh an earful in his address. He chided him and asked him to stop speaking nonsense when addressing workers.
The SP supremo then tried to restore peace and asked his brother and son to hug and make up. A half-hearted hug ensued and it looked like normalcy would be restored. But all this failed when an agitated Akhilesh again mentioned Singh with reference to a recent article in which they had been depicted as Mughal rulers.
The situation by then had become so tense that NSG guards had to intervene to keep father and son away from each other. It was in this melee that the meeting ended.
Post this unprecedented public spat, SP workers and the top leadership will find there is much to introspect and mull over the party's future. Right now though, that future looks very bleak indeed.
