Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia-SP mergerShivpal Singh Yadav, the founder of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL), today (December 8) announced the merger of his party with the Samajwadi Party (SP). This announcement was made by Shivpal Singh Yadav in Saifai in the presence of his nephew and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Akhilesh Yadav indicated the merger of PSPL with SP by presenting the party flag to his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav in Saifai. A SP flag was also put on the vehicle of Shivpal Singh Yadav.
Speaking to reporters in Saifai on Thursday, Shivpal Singh Yadav said, “We have merged the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) with the Samajwadi Party. We will fight unitedly in 2024. From today the Samajwadi Party flag (on the car) will be there.” ” ,
The merger comes at a time when Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav won a massive lead of over 2.31 lakh votes in the by-election for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. During the counting of votes on Thursday, BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya was trailing.
In 2016, Akhilesh showed his uncle Shivpal the way out of the Samajwadi Party due to a family dispute. Shivpal later formed his own separate party Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia). However, the PSPL failed to win any seat in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The two leaders had met last year and hinted at a possible merger. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had also announced an alliance with smaller parties for the elections. The PSPL flag was also brought down from the party office after the merger was announced.
PSPL chief spokesperson Deepak Mishra told the media, “This is a new variation of samajwad (socialism). There were misunderstandings between the two leaders, which have now been resolved. And from now on, it will be a fight between the BJP and the SP.” ”
(with inputs from agencies)
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