Akhilesh, Shivpal under one roof after 104 days

Shivpal Yadav sat quietly during the meeting and only exchanged pleasantries with some MLAs. Photo: PTI (File)

LUCKNOW: There were no fireworks at the first meeting of the Samajwadi Party after their rout on the just ended Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

As the 47 newly elected members were ushered into the auditorium of the party headquarters, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav were together for the first time in 104 days. While Shivpal Yadav sat quietly during the meeting and only exchanged pleasantries with some MLAs, he is known to be angry with outgoing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. They have never been seen together after a bitter feud broke out in the party after which Akhilesh Yadav took over as the Samajwadi Party's national President and Shivpal Yadav was removed as its state unit chief. Akhilesh Yadav will name the next leader of the opposition after the March 25 National Executive meet. The newly elected MLAs took stock of the electoral showing, which saw the party tally tumble to 47, its lowest in 25 years, in the 403-member house. At the meeting, leaders blamed the media and the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the party's disastrous showing in the election. The Samajwadi Party had 224 members in the outgoing assembly. The BJP and its allies now have a thumping majority of 325. The BSP has 19 MLAs, the Congress seven and the RLD one.