LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has written to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker to allot a seat in the front to Shivpal Singh Yadav, in a surprise overture to his uncle who is seen to be now leaning towards the ruling BJP.
Shivpal Yadav, who floated his own Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) in 2018 after a rift with his nephew, was however given an SP ticket in the last Assembly polls.
But after the elections, the two have been at loggerheads again.
On Tuesday, the SP's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury told PTI that Shivpal Yadav is the senior-most member in the Assembly and he should be given due respect.
"No political meaning should be drawn out of it. As he (Shivpal) is the senior-most member, the request was made," Chowdhury said.
The Monsoon Session of the state Assembly begins on September 19.
The Speaker's Office, however, has said it has not yet received any such letter from Akhilesh or his party.
Though Shivpal Yadav had won the Assembly polls on an SP ticket from Jaswant Nagar, the party lost to the BJP.
The SP then held a meeting of its MLAs to review the loss, but decided against inviting Shivpal Yadav to it.
The senior leader then met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, triggering a speculation that he may forge an alliance with the BJP.
During the Presidential polls, Shivpal went against the SP's decision to support Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha and voted for BJP-led National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu instead.
Following this, the SP issued him a letter saying he was free to go where he seemed to be commanding more respect.
Recently, Shivpal launched 'Yadukul Renaissance Mission', aimed at uniting the Yadav voters.