All is well that ends well  for the Samajwadi Party, which claims to have ended its current family crisis. The question is has it really ended or is it just a  temporary cosmetic patch-up?

The party&’s dominant family has at least twenty members in politics – five in the Lok Sabha, one in the Rajya Sabha, one UP lawmaker, two legislative council members and several others in lower-level political posts. They emerge as the biggest political family in India. Therefore the cracks are bound to reappear.

The two month- long family feud that has been played out by UP&’s first family has shaken the party which is getting ready to face next year&’s assembly polls. Even the SP is not sure that it can come back as it is losing ground in view of anti-incumbency and the deteriorating law and order situation and now the family fight.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has put it succintly by saying his conflict with uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav was a "sarkari ladai" (government battle), not a family feud and it is a fight for the chair.

When Akhilesh took over four and a half years ago, there was hope that a modern, educated and young man like him might govern better. But he could not deliver as he was controlled by his uncles Shiv Pal Singh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav, party senior Azam Khan and of course his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav. The irony is that Amar Singh who has returned to the party recently and was made a Rajya Sabha member is being made out as the villain in the whole crisis. Can one man be the cause of the rift? The problem is certainly deeper than Amar Singh.

Now with elections fast approaching , Akhilesh is desperate for an image makeover as a ‘doer.’  Therefore he has started flexing his muscles which is resisted by Shiv Pal, resulting in a crisis. The snub to his uncle in recent times, removal of corrupt ministers and dismissal of officials sponsored by Shiv Pal are perhaps Akhilesh&’s way of protecting his image.

Because of Mulayam Singh&’s stature in the family and in the party, the warring family members have been asked to kiss and make up. This was on account of the realisation that a rift at this point of time with just a few months for the UP polls might hurt the  party. 

The crisis has been brewing for long, in fact from the day Akhilesh Yadav took over as chief minister in 2012.  It is no secret that Mulayam Singh&’s younger brother Shiv Pal had been aspiring to occupy the throne when Mulayam chose his son Akhilesh. Shivpal might have a grip on the party, but he had no hold on the people of the state. Since then the uncle could not digest that the nephew had marginalised him.

Mulayam has been  doing a balancing act all along. Akhilesh too had put up with the tantrums of Shiv Pal and took it in his stride when Mulayam reprimanded him in public about his government. Akhilesh had gone along on many things including the re-entry of Amar Singh and his nomination to the Rajya Sabha. The chief minister finally mustered courage to tell his uncle enough is enough only recently. Akhilesh displayed the first signs of assertion two months ago when he shot down Shiv Pal&’s plan for merger of mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari&’s Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) with the Samajwadi Party. Shiv Pal hit back by sponsoring his man Deepak Singhal as chief secretary. After two months Akilesh  sacked Singhal last week.  He also sacked  Gayatri Prasad  Prajapathi, a minister close to both Mulayam and Shiv Pal after the court turned down the government&’s plea for withdrawal of a CBI case. Matters reached a peak when Mulayam decided to replace Akhilesh as the state party chief with Shivpal. Akhilesh retaliated by stripping Shivpal of the key portfolios of Public Works, Revenue and Irrigation, explaining – "I generally go by what Netaji tells me but, yes, I do take some decisions on my own."

Now that a formula has been worked out, it is clear that Mulayam has been able to prevail on his son and brother to patch up. Mulayam has declared that he had made a mistake but believes no one can overrule him. However, the real loser is Mulayam Singh.  His own family members have made it clear that there are differences within them. There is bound to be a fight for control of the party in the coming months.

Interestingly while  Akhilesh would have liked to be on a pedestal before the polls with his perceived fight for clean politics, the chief minister has been shown his place as he was forced to take back Gayatri Prasad as well as return Shiv Pal&’s old portfolios.

Politically it is advantage SP opponents, as the BSP may gain from the family fight. In recent times the BSP was getting weakened with some of its leaders deserting the party.  If the Muslims decide to desert the SP, they might prefer the BSP as Mayawati has proved to be a good administrator. The Congress too might get a section of the Muslims back if it connects with the people. The BJP is worried about a weakened SP as it would affect the BJP&’s chances as Muslims and Dalits may gravitate towards BSP.

The SP is indeed the loser in the whole drama as the differences between family members over who holds power can be fatal for the party ahead of the 2017 polls. The aftermath of the family fight may also divide workers in separate groups led by Mulayam, Akhilesh and Shiv Pal in the coming months.