LUCKNOW: With the intent to overhaul the party organisation for the first time post-general elections, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhikesh Yadav dissolved all the unit executives including state, district, youth wing , student wing and others here on Friday. The only constant being the retention of the state unit chief Naresh Uttam.
In another major development, the SP chief met ex-BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief OP Rajbhar triggering the speculations of a possible tie-up between the two parties.
In a bid to regain lost ground after facing a ruthless rout in recently concluded general elections when the party could win barely five seats despite its alliance with arch-rival Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the SP chief dissolved the executives of all the wings of parent organisation for its over-hauling for better performance in upcoming by-poll to 13 assembly seats in the state.
As per highly placed SP sources, new executives would be constituted soon. The SP sources claimed that it was imperative to overhaul the party organisation giving a chance to the new leadership at a different level as party has been witnessing drubbing at elections since 2014.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, SP could win just five seats, majority Yadav clan bastions like Azamgarh, Badaun, Kannauj, Mainpuri and Ferozabad. But it failed to retain even the family stronghold in 2019 and lost Badaun, Kannauj and Ferozabad despite being in alliance with BSP and RLD. The party failed to take its tally beyond five and maintained the number by winning three other seats -- Rampur, Morabadab and Shamli.
On the contrary, reaping the alliance benefit, Mayawati’s BSP took its tally from zero to 10. RLD failed to open its account.
Similarly, 2017 Assembly elections was another rude shock to Akhilesh Yadav, who was more than sure to repeat a term in the office. The party tally came down to 47 from 229 in Assembly despite fighting the polls in alliance with Congress witnessed its worst ever decimation in the state as it could win just seven seats.
If the party insiders have to be believed, Akhilesh had started off the process of churning within the organisation from the day of Lok Sabha results in order to improve performance in upcoming bypolls and 2022 Assembly polls.