Has Shivpal settled score with Akhilesh?

LUCKNOW: Is denial of tickets to three ministers loyal to the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav a retaliatory action by state SP president Shivpal Yadav.
Shivpal Yadav, who is considered number two in the party and government, was sacked by Akhilesh Yadav along with three ministers -- Om Prakash Singh, Sadaaf Fatima and Narad Rai -- in October for his proximity with SP MP Amar Singh.
For the past three months, Akhilesh Yadav has had strained relations with his uncle Shivpal.
While the chief minister dropped Shivpal and his aides from his government, Shivpal hit back after becoming the party’s state chief and sacked Akhilesh loyalists from SP’s frontal and district units.
The SP list announced on Wednesday had the stamp of Shivpal as he managed to convince Mulayam Singh Yadav to drop three ministers -- Ram Govind Chaudhary, Arvind Singh Gope, and Pawan Pandey, all of whom are close to the CM.
Mulayam feels Arvind Singh Gope betrayed him by switching loyalty towards Akhilesh. This, when Gope was elevated as party’s general secretary about a year ago and later made cabinet minister at Mulayam’s behest. But in the Yadav fued, Gope stood with Akhilesh and emerged as the key organiser of his rath yatras and public meetings. In fact, Gope is the only leader with a statewide network in Team Akhilesh. Gope irked Shivpal when he stopped meeting the latter.
The other Akhilesh aide, Pawan Pandey, was accused of assaulting SP MLC Ashu Malik, who is close to Mulayam Singh Yadav. Though Pawan was sacked from the party after the incident, Akhiklesh did not drop him from the ministry. This was seen as an act of defiance by the chief minister against the party. And so Pandey’s ticket has been cut.
A socialist and long time loyalist of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chaudhary was given the charge of primary education, and later of the panchayati raj department. He was, however, sacked following growing proximity to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who he is seen to be supporting in the ongoing Pari-War