Will start my Vikas Yatra on Nov 3, Akhilesh tells dad

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday added yet another twist to the ongoing family saga by writing to the Samajwadi Party chief and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav that he would begin his election campaign on November 3.
The CM’s ‘Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra’ was to start on October 3 but kept getting put off because of the internecine war.
The letter, coming a day after SP’s youth wing said that it would boycott the party’s silver jubilee celebrations if sacked officials weren’t reinstated, has triggered speculation whether Akhilesh would be available for the gala on November 5.
Political analysts said Akhilesh’s manner of informing his father about his election campaign, through a letter, was unusual.
Starting his two-paragraph letter, which was curiously available to media houses, Akhilesh writes, “As all other political parties have already started their election campaign, I am starting my ‘Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra’ from November 3.”
He makes a point that the yatra was to start on October 3, but postponed “due to various reasons’.
“Details of the yatra would be communicated to district presidents and workers from time to time,” the letter said. It’s copies were marked to SP state chief Shivpal Yadav and general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.
In an exclusive interview to TOI recently, Akhilesh had expressed his pain and anguish over the turn of events in the past few weeks and said he would not wait for anyone any more and start election campaign all alone. His Wednesday’s letter clearly shows that he is on the journey “on his own”.
While there’s uncertainty surrounding Akhilesh’s presence in the silver jubilee event, it is also unlikely that he would attend the two-day meeting of district-level party officials and the state executive at the state headquarters on October 21 and 22, say party insiders.
Although party spokesperson Deepak Mishra said Akhilesh was invited to the meeting, those close to the CM said Akhilesh had no position in the state executive, so he had no obligation to attend these meetings.
“The fact that he is starting his election campaign without any schedule fixed by the party, reflects his frustration,” they say, adding, “Facing constant attack from family elders, he was also feeling humiliated the way his decisions were being overturned.”
First, the party reinstated minister Gayatri Prajpati, sacked by Akhilesh on corruption charges and then Shivpal announced before media that the merger of Qaumi Ekta Dal with SP was already done. Akhilesh had opposed the merger when he was the state chief.
Besides, despite his strong reservations against ‘outsiders’ (referring to Amar Singh and his ilk), they were not only given prime position in the party, but also emerged as the main advisers of Mulayam. While he expressed his anguish on all these issues in the interview to TOI, he has also been expressing his pain on different public platforms. His public appeal to take back sacked youth leaders, considered close to him, has gone unheard.