NEW DELHI: As dissident Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh sits pretty in Dubai, the crisis in the party is deepening, with a clear-cut divide between the pro- and anti-Amar Singh groups.
The SP is in the throes of a full-blown political crisis, even as the beleaguered SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday ruled out acceptance of Amar Singh’s resignation, given his special relationship with Amar Singh. Under intense political pressure, Mulayam Singh is making efforts at reaching out to Amar Singh, in a desperate bid to limit the damage. Clearly Mulayam Singh has stepped into damage-control mode, with the political crisis in the party threatening to spiral out of control. Film star Sanjay Dutt resigned as SP General Secretary, irked by Mulayam Singh’s brother Ramgopal Yadav’s statement that film stars have done no good to the party. Film stars Jaya Bachchan and Jaya Prada, who are both members of Parliament elected on SP ticket, are also firmly behind Amar Singh, demonstrating his political clout.
Crisis has been brewing in the party, ever since Mulayam Singh inducted his son Akhilesh Yadav into the party, projecting him as an effective foil for Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi clearly outwitted the Samajwadi Party brass, by wresting the political initiative from the SP in the major Hindi-heartland State of Uttar Pradesh.
With Rahul Gandhi-led Congress occupying the political space of the principal Opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, the SP is worried over its political fortunes taking a nosedive and the resignation of Amar Singh could not have come at a more inopportune time for the party.
Akhilesh Yadav failed to get his wife Dimple Yadav elected in a by-election from Ferozabad in Uttar Pradesh in November 2009 and it gave a handle to Amar Singh. Akhilesh Yadav was trying to upstage Rahul Gandhi by trying to reclaim the rural plank and in the process, ended up giving a short-shrift to the film star-corporate culture brought in by Amar Singh. Amar Singh also has felicity of being a draftsman, a fundraiser and political operator.
If Amar Singh quits, Mulayam Singh may not find it easy even to run the party. But with Amar Singh around, Mulayam Singh is unable to give a free hand to his son Akhilesh Yadav in running the affairs of the party. Mulayam Singh Yadav is clearly on the horns of a dilemma.
