Running in the family
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MEANINGS are given in BOLD and ITALIC
Akhilesh Yadav’s tussle (a physical fight or struggle) with his “uncles” has been a consistent feature of his tenure (a period of time during which something is possessed) as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. But the rapid (very quick) developments of this week could mark the deepest fissure (a crack or opening) in the ruling Samajwadi Party. In the span of a few hours on Tuesday, tensions that have simmered ever since Mr. Yadav came to power in early 2012 rose to a crescendo (a gradual increase of anything) . Mr. Yadav shifted out the State Chief Secretary, Deepak Singhal, who had been in the post for only two months, a man seen to be close to Shivpal Singh Yadav, brother of his father and SP chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
In no time, the Chief Minister was replaced by Mr. Shivpal Yadav as the party’s U.P. unit president. Thereafter, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav stripped (to remove or take away) his uncle of most of the portfolios (the post of the responsibilities of a cabinet minister or other head of a government department) he held in the Cabinet. There the matter now rests, with party confabulations (a casual conversation) with Mr. Mulayam Singh shifting to Delhi, and the young scion (someone who guards or protects) issuing statements asserting his writ (ordering someone to do) as Chief Minister of U.P. How this realigns the SP’s lines of authority, and eventually shapes its campaign (a series of operations undertaken to achieve a set goal) for the Assembly elections, depends on what gives in the family feud (a monetary payment charged for professional services).
The Chief Minister and his “uncles” have made moves and counter-offensives on a crowded chessboard these past years, with Mr. Mulayam Singh keeping the ultimate command in his own hands. The Opposition, for its part, never loses the opportunity to highlight how the Chief Minister is undermined (to weaken or work against) by his “uncles”, those related by blood and those who exercise authority by virtue (to inherent power of something) of their long stint (limit ; extend ; restrain) in the party — the allegation is that in effect the State has four-and-a-half chief ministers. The result of this tussle is that at every point of discord (a lack of agreement) , it is made evident that the Chief Minister does not hold enough sway (swing) over the party organisation — in turn, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav loses no opportunity to emphasise that his calling card in politics is clean, aspirational (desiring success)governance that is focussed on development and law and order.
In the run-up to the State elections, he is seeking to foreground this image, and pushing back on the discord with his uncles. A day before the Chief Secretary’s sacking, he dismissed two Ministers caught in corruption charges, evidently without securing his father’s nod (an instance of moving one’s head). Earlier, he forced the revocation (to call back to mind ; to recollect) of a Shivpal-engineered merger of the Quami Ekta Dal into the SP, on account of its criminal antecedents (earlier ; either in time or order) . Mr. Akhilesh Yadav could, in fact, pull this discord to the party’s electoral
