Shivpal Singh Yadav, the uncle of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday declared his support for Droupadi Murmu, the candidate of the BJP-led NDA.
Shivpal Singh Yadav and Om Prakash Rajbhar, the leader of the Samajwadi Party's main ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), attended a luncheon for Droupadi Murmu last night that was hosted by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
"Samajwadi Party didn't call or beg for my vote. I was summoned by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath yesterday, when I met Droupadi Murmu, the NDA's presidential candidate, and made my decision to cast my vote for her "ANI, a news source, cited Shivpal Yadav as saying.
Shivpal Yadav criticised Akhilesh Yadav for not inviting him to party meetings amid growing unhappiness in the opposition camp in Uttar Pradesh and claimed that his "immaturity" is to blame for various party alliances departing from one another.
The current source of contention in their tense relationship is Akhilesh Yadav's decision to not invite both Shivpal Yadav and Om Prakash Rajbhar to a Thursday meeting with Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition candidate for the 2017 presidential elections.
"Can he point out one election he has won on his own?" asked Om Prakash Rajbhar.
Shivpal Yadav, the leader of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia, now holds the post of MLA for Jaswant Nagar, which he gained while running under the Samajwadi Party banner.
“If Akhilesh Yadav took my suggestions seriously, the condition of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh would be completely different. Several alliances of Samajwadi Party are now leaving them and the reason is the political immaturity of the party chief,” he said.