Sidelined Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Wednesday launched a new outfit – Samajwadi Secular Morcha – and said he would try to unite smaller parties under it.
However, Shivpal, the estranged uncle of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, refused to answer whether the Morcha would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“I have formed Samajwadi Secular Morcha. I was neglected in the Samajwadi Party and waited for two years. I was neither informed nor invited in party programmes and no responsibility was given to me,” Shivpal, who is still a SP legislator, told reporters at his residence in Lucknow.
“There are many neglected workers in the SP. They will be assigned responsibilities and asked to strengthen our Morcha. I will also try to unite backwards and smaller parties under the Morcha,” he added.
While launching of a new indicates towards Shivpal’s exit from SP, he is yet to confirm whether he will leave SP or not.
When he was asked about his plan of quitting the Samajwadi Party, he shrugged, “Why don’t you go ask Akhilesh Yadav if I should quit?”
It is not yet clear whether SP founder and his brother Mulayam Singh Yadav will be a part of the Morcha or not.
To a question, Shivpal, the MLA from Jaswantnagar, dismissed rumours of his joining forces with the BJP or any other political party.
BJP minister and president of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Om Prakash Rajbhar had met Shivpal Yadav at his residence on Tuesday night, but both the leaders maintained that the meeting was personal and not political.
The announcement of the Morcha came a day after expelled SP leader Amar Singh claimed that he had set up a meeting between Shivpal and top BJP leaders, but it did not take place as Shivpal skipped the scheduled meeting.
(With agency inputs)