Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav sacked his uncle and rival Shivpal Yadav from the cabinet on Sunday, intensifying a family power tussle that threatens to jeopardize the party’s chances in next year’s assembly polls. Akhilesh announced the decision to sack Shadab Fatima, Narad Rai, Shivpal Yadav and Om Prakash Singh after meeting party legislators – roughly a month after stripping Shivpal, who is the SP state president, of key portfolios. “We told Akhilesh that Amar Singh is anti-social and should be thrown out of the party,” Faizabad MLA Pawan Pandey – known to be close to Akhilesh and Mulayam – told HT, as slogans of “Amar Singh chor hai (Amar Singh is a thief) resonated outside the CM’s residence. Amar Singh is seen by many in the Akhilesh camp as the instigator behind the current power tussle. Read| ‘Victory is where Akhilesh is’: Ramgopal Yadav writes letter before SP meet

Source: Hindustan Times October 23, 2016 06:29 UTC