Lucknow: A senior scribe in Lucknow once sought out Mulayam's advice in the face of intense politicking in the press club. "Don't alienate anyone", Mulayam Singh Yadav told him. After a brief pause he added "You never know when, where and how you may need that person".
As he moved in to call truce between the warring factions in his party, Mulayam has again displayed inimitable dexterity in managing contradictions.
The final contours of detente are yet to be made public, but it seems Mulayam Singh Yadav has achieved what he had set out do.
As the crisis escalated, it was communicated within the family and party leadership that this was an unresolved matter between Akhilesh and Shivpal, and hence no one else should step in.
Did anyone see Azam Khan or any senior leader speak during the entire crisis?
Even cousin Ram Gopal left for the family village Sefai after launching a tirade against Amar Singh. He did not even once mention Shivpal's name.
That Shivpal was forced to take the extreme step after his first meeting with Mulayam and Akhilesh was an indication that the party supremo's brother felt he was being boxed into a corner.
Who has the authority to allocate tickets in the next elections remains the bone of contention after the turn of events.
Shivpal, having being made state unit chief, would have held sway over that. Akhilesh is still insisting that he - as the face of the campaign - should have the final word on that.
Mulayam knows all too well that he cannot afford to antagonise Shivpal just before the elections.
In a closed-door interaction with Akhilesh's supporters he gave a stern message: that it is the old guards like Shivpal who have made immense contribution in building the organisation.
Referring to the electoral debacle in 2014, Mulayam Singh Yadav made it apparent that party would need the services of Shivpal in election management, as his brother is seen to have a good rapport with the party cadre.
So the compromise now being worked out is to offer Akhilesh the top post in the state parliamentary board which is the top authority in ticket distribution in the state.
Akhilesh on his part has for the first time asserted his authority in the organisation.
In his interaction with the media on Saturday, he made it plain and clear that as the president of the state unit it was now Shivpal's responsibility to ensure the party does well in the state elections.
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