Will the expulsion of Akhilesh Yadav hurt the Samajwadi Party

What implications could Mulayam Singh Yadav's move have on the party's immediate future

Lucknow, Dec 31: The expulsion of Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party came as a rude shock to most of the cadre. With political unity under question, the grand old party of Uttar Pradesh is staring at a major split.

Members of the SP probably stand to lose the most with expulsion of Akhilesh and Ram Gopal Yadav, the SP's parliamentary leader, from the party. With polls coming close, party members are caught between the party face and the party patriarch.

Ram Gopal Yadav, who is firmly in the Akhilesh camp, could appeal to the Election Commission as well as courts to seize the 'cycle', the party's electoral symbol. If that comes to pass, the SP may be unable to use the 'cycle' as a symbol in the upcoming polls.

This may be a real possibility since Akhilesh has rubbished the idea of floating a new party, a second option to be considered by his camp is to use the symbol of a defunct party to give uniformity to all his candidates.

If reconciliation is impossible, all candidates from Akhilesh Yadav's camp may have to contest independently. If desired numbers do not come Akhilesh's way, he is likely to join the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal to form a new front for the polls.

OneIndia News