Lucknow, Oct 23 (PTI): The ruling Samajwadi Party appeared to be headed for a split on Sunday as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh, the party's boss, sacked each other's loyalists. Akhilesh sacked uncle Shivpal, the party's state unit chief, and three other pro-Amar Singh ministers from his Cabinet. Mulayam hit back by dismissing his cousin Ramgopal -- who is close to Akhilesh-- from the party for six years. Hours later, he announced that the SP chief had expelled Ramgopal from the party for six years. Launching a scathing attack on Ramgopal, Shivpal said he was tarnishing the image of SP by dabbling in corruption, colluding with BJP and weakening Mulayam's leadership.

Source: The Telegraph October 23, 2016 13:07 UTC