Samajwadi Party signals end of alliance with Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav

The Samajwadi Party on Saturday told allies Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go signalling a breakup after the two supported the BJP presidential candidate in the just concluded pollsRajbhar said he has accepted the divorce given by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav too gave similar indicationIn a letter to Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party SBSP president Omprakash Rajbhar the SP said while they are fighting the BJP Rajbhar has a partnership with the saffron party and was helping it It said he is free to go if he feels he will get more respect thereIn a similar letter to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia President Shivpal Singh Yadav the SP said that he can go where he gets more respectThe SP shared the letters on its official Twitter handleShivpal Yadav replied tersely to the SPs moveAlthough I was always free I sincerely thank the Samajwadi Party from the heart for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey he tweeted in HindiRajbhar hit out at Akhilesh YadavIt is bad if I meet Yogi Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him he said and warned the SP chief that the effect of his action will be known by the 2024 electionsAsked about his next step he said that he will hold talks with the Bahujan Samaj PartyHe also said that Shivpal Yadav is our leader and we keep in touch with himThe development came after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the National Democratic Alliances NDA presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who defeated Yashwant Sinha the opposition nominee supported by SPIn 2018 Shivpal Singh Yadav formed his new party after he was sidelined by Akhilesh YadavAkhilesh Yadav had reached out to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead of the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the latter had won the election from the Jaswant Nagar constituency on the SP symbol However the ties remained strained between the twoThe Samajwadi Party had fought the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudharys RLD Rajbhars SBSP Apna Dal Kamerawadi Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia Keshav Dev Mauryas Mahan Dal and the Janwadi PartyBut after the alliance failed to dislodge the BJP there was much speculation about it falling apartThe Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SPThe SP is now left with only RLD and Apna Dal Kamerawadi as alliance partnersIn the letter written in Hindi sent to Rajbhar the SP said Shri Omprakash Rajbhar Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP You have an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and are continuously working to strengthen the BJPIf you think that you will get more respect then you are free to go thereThe letter to Shivpal read Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere then you are free to go thereOm Prakash Rajbhars proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was visible in the presidential election Meanwhile the UP government has provided Y category security to RajbharAfter the SPs defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an airconditioned roomRajbhars party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections in alliance with the states main opposition Samajwadi Party SP Rajbhar a strong backward leader with influence in eastern UP districts fought the 2017 assembly election in UP with the BJP but later parted ways and joined the SPled alliance