Akhilesh Yadav goes ahead with Samajwadi Party convention

Will there be more twists in the tale in Lucknow is the question as Ram Gopal Yadav, MP on Saturday confirmed that the Samajwadi Party national convention will take place on Sunday in Lucknow as announced.

The confirmation followed hours after party president Mulayam Singh Yadav revoked the expulsion of Ram Gopal and Akhilesh Yadav as dramatically as they had been expelled on Friday evening. Netaji, as MSY is known, forced brother Shivpal Yadav, perceived to be opposed to Akhilesh Yadav, to make both the announcements.

Unconfirmed reports from Lucknow suggested that following the re-induction of the duo, Mulayam Singh Yadav had demanded that the national convention be put off. The refusal by Akhilesh-Ram Gopal duo to concede the demand keeps the possibility of more fireworks on Sunday in Lucknow alive.

Controversial leader and MP Amar Singh, who is close to MSY but is opposed by Akhilesh Yadav, hailed the decision to revoke the chief minister’s suspension and said that the party chief had taken the right decision. Reports had earlier claimed that he was acting as a bridge between MSY and the BJP.

Some of the reactions on Twitter to Saturday afternoon’s development were as follows:

• Nice PR strategy, 24 hours of free PR coverage!
• Drama to enhance image of Akhilesh Yadav for upcoming election.
• MSY retains the title of the most unpredictable politician of the country
• By making up with MSY Akhilesh Yadav has turned out to be a Yavlet (Yadav + Hamlet)…cut a sorry figure.
• Humble request to news channels—please wait for 24 hours before confirming any news (related to Samajwadi Party)
• The drama of the year over ! Well acted, guys.
• Father and son parody at the cost of party workers
• Now that Akhilesh Yadav has been taken back in the party, what will Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee do?