Politics | Akhilesh Yadav’s long journey towards SP’s revival

Much like kings of yore who after being routed and discredited, disbanded their armies, and relied on a tight-knit coterie to start afresh, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has embarked on a gruelling path of building his party from scratch after three successive electoral disasters. The strings of the severely shrunken SP are still the in hands of key Yadav family members such as Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav and former Lok Sabha MP Dharmendra Yadav, besides Akhilesh Yadav and a few leaders like Azam Khan.

It seems a total overhaul of the party is in the offing ahead of the 2022 assembly elections. Three days after SP dissolved its organisational units at the state, and district level along with associated organisations in Uttar Pradesh, it has also dissolved the Delhi state unit, and is expected to do the same with other state units such as in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand among others where the SP is a marginal player.

The dissolutions come against the backdrop of an existential crisis for the regional outfit as it failed to increase its tally in the recent Lok Sabha elections despite its radical experiment of allying with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). It’s a battle of survival for Akhilesh as well because his credibility is at an all-time low after three successive electoral defeats.

In the 2014 general elections, the SP contested alone, in the 2017 assemble elections he tied-up with Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), and in the latest elections with the BSP, and the RLD. Along with his strategies coming up a cropper, the Yadav scion also faces opposition from his uncle Shivpal Yadav and his outfit, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP).
It was internal dissension in the SP’s first family that led to the poor show of party candidates in several strongholds and the trouncing of Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav from Kannauj.

Three successive losses and failed electoral experiments have substantially eroded the faith its supporters had in the party that gained prominence in the Mandal and Kamandal years of 1990s. Since the 1990s, the SP managed to come to power in UP at least three times with the support of Yadavs and Muslims. In the Lok Sabha too it managed to win at least a dozen times since it first contested in 1996. However, with its tally stuck at five MPs, the SP looks like a spent force.

The perception on the ground is that Akhilesh has failed to steer or strengthen the party in its toughest time; most of its senior leaders have left the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other rivals either under coercion or to seek better fortunes. The impression that Akhilesh is surrounded by a small cabal of close loyalists and old timers who control access has also gained ground among traditional SP supporters, and it is this disgruntlement that has been ably harnessed by his uncle Shivpal.

Since his time as Chief Minister (2012-2017), Akhilesh has projected himself as a youthful and progressive leader in a state mired in caste- and religion-based politics. It was also this battle between the old guard, represented within SP by Shivpal and the new guard led by Akhilesh that eventually led to the crippling split.

Akhilesh has continued on the path of trying to create a new politics around his persona of a youthful and educated politician, his hope is that it will appeal to the youth who want a modern and peaceful Uttar Pradesh and are disillusioned with the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state. Ahead of the bye-polls to 12 assembly seats, those aspiring for a ticket from the SP have been asked to share their educational qualification, details of criminal cases and the duration of association with the party among other details.

The crushing defeats and failed alliances notwithstanding, the Yadav scion remains strident in his anti-BJP stand and after its divorce with the BSP, the SP is now trying to build a new coalition with smaller outfits such as Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, who was till recently a minister in the Yogi government, and Phoolan Sena, a party that claims to represent the Nishad community. While the Rajbhars constitute about 4 per cent of UP’s population, they can influence polls in several seats in eastern UP where they are present in sizeable numbers. Similarly, the Nishad community too has a substantial presence across UP, especially in the Gangetic plains.

For Akhilesh Yadav the bye-polls are going to be a bell-weather for his new strategy that relies on smaller parties and his own appeal. The main battle will be the 2022 assembly elections, and that will really be a fight for political survivor for both him and his party.

Valay Singh is a freelance journalist. Views expressed personal.