‘Samajwadi Party’s Mahabharat’: Personalities from Hindu mythological epic finding resemblance within Yadav clan

The seed of this Mahabharata was sown back in 2012, when 'Dhritarashtra' (Mulayam), was pressed with the need of securing the interests of his son rather than meting out justice towards his clan.

Following the mythological battle of Mahabharata, queen Gandhari had cursed Lord Krishna saying, “All Yadavs will end up fighting each other”. Even 3,000 years later, her curse still appears to be adversely impacting the Yadav clan within the Indian polity. The two renowned Yadav family battles, within the political circles, were fought in neighbouring Bihar. One led to the ouster of Pappu Yadav, the brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad Yadav from the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The second battle is as recent as the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when ‘uncle’ Ram Kripal Yadav defeated niece Misa Bharti, the daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav in a high-voltage electoral battle in Patna. Fast forward to 2016, a Mahabharata has erupted within the Yadav clan of Uttar Pradesh. There is a group of Pandavas led by Akhilesh Yadav, and a faction of modern day Karavas led by his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav.

The seed of this Mahabharata was sown back in 2012, when Mulayam, similar to Dhritarashtra, was pressed with the need of securing the interests of his son rather than meting out justice towards his clan. With the overwhelming victory of Samajwadi Party in 2012 assembly elections, Mulayam began eyeing the prime ministerial post and wanted to hand over the reigns of Uttar Pradesh to  his son Akhilesh. The decision indicated a clear betrayal towards Shivpal, who was considered to be the number two person within the Yadav clan, and was the most popular leader among the cadres of the party after ‘Netaji’ himself.

There was ‘Bhishma’ in the Yadav clan – Ram Gopal Varma, who supported Akhilesh’s elevation, despite being aware of the fact that Netaji’s son was a political rookie and it was Shivpal gave his blood and sweat for the party. Bhishma has now sided completely with the Akhilesh camp.

This ‘Samajwadi’ Mahabharata also offers the character of Shakuni, being played by Amar Singh. Paving his way back into the party, Amar Singh has once again intensified the factionalism within Samajwadi Party. As per reports, he is now enjoying proximity with both Mulayam and Shivpal, and has ended up annoying old guard members like Ram Gopal Varma and Azam Khan. While the latter had described his return to the party as ‘unfortunate’, the former almost said that Amar Singh should once again be expelled from the party.

Similar to Mahabharata which led to beginning of Kalyug in Hindu history, the family warfare within Samajwadi Party represents the epitome of the dark political discourse in Indian politics. The party could, at best, survive till the death of Dhritarashtra (Netaji). Following the end of Mulayam’s era, Samajwadi Party is bound to split as conflicting egos and larger than life personalities could not settle under the so-called Samajwadi (socialist) umbrella.

All eyes are set on the upcoming elections in the state. If a defiant Akhilesh could compel the voters to defy anti-incumbency, then the regime of Samajwadi Party is likely to be handed over to him on a silver platter. On the other hand, a loss could prove why SP needed the booth-level politics and social engineering of Shivpal. The task was being performed in a strenous manner by him over the past two decades.