In a visible softening of stand, Shivpal Yadav said he was not aspiring for the post of Chief Minister and was ready to join hands with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav and support him for the race to office after 2022 UP Assembly polls. Shivpal broke away from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and formed Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) and the outfit also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“I have no aspiration to become the Chief Minister and I hope the two parties will move together for the UP Assembly elections in 2022. We should take this pledge on November 22 - the birthday of Mulayam Singh Yadav,” said the PSPL chief.

“We are ready to join hands with Akhilesh once again and help him become the Chief Minister. I hope the two parties move ahead for unity. Our priority is Samajwadi Party since we have worked with Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) for a very long time and our ideology is also similar,” Shivpal said. “We are making efforts in this direction. Akhilesh will be able to form the government if he agrees to join,” said Shivpal. 

Assembly electionss in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled in 2022. Earlier, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had tried to bring the estranged uncle-nephew duo together following poor performance of both the parties in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

Akhilesh, however, has time and again maintained that the SP will contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls alone.

Earlier in September, Samajwadi Party had said that it would consider withdrawing its application filed with UP Assembly Speaker seeking disqualification of Shivpal Yadav from the membership of the Assembly, if he agreed for a merger with the Samajwadi Party. On September 13, the SP had moved the application seeking Shivpal’s disqualification from the Assembly under the Anti-Defection Law. Shivpal Yadav was elected from Jaswantnagar Assembly segment on an SP ticket in 2017 Assembly elections. In 2018, he floated Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) after falling out with his nephew and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.