Family feud takes toll on Akhilesh Yadav's development agenda of Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: The dust may settle on the bickering within the SP , but not before it takes a toll on Akhilesh Yadav's development agenda. With October 3 -the UP CM launches his party's poll campaign -not far, the CM appears to be getting waylaid by an internal feud that threatens to throw off-kilter flagship projects he'd rather be paying heed to now.

Take the Lucknow-Agra Greenfield Expressway , or the Dial 100 state-wide police control centre. Both are his pet projects and are to be inaugurated in October. But the Dial 100 files remain stuck.That the squabble was taking a toll was clear from his statement on Wednesday: “This isn't a fight within the family . This is a fight in the government. In the family, everyone listens to netaji, everyone does his bidding. Even I've done so many times, but some decisions are my own.“

This isn't the first time Akhilesh has raised concerns over bureaucrats and ministers trying to derail his development projects. His laptop scheme met Mulayam's resistance in November 2014. At a recent function in Lucknow, Akhilesh cautioned then chief secretary Deepak Singhal that he was accountable to the CM and the government for failing to expedite the Dial 100 initiative.

Akhilesh's challenge is twofold. A two-time MP and CM, he remains image conscious, eager to rid the SP of its “goonda“ image. In 2012, he insisted on keeping don-turned-politician DP Yadav out of the SP . More recently, he ensured the SP merger with Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal got scrapped, saying he'd resist anyone who could taint the party image. On the back of these tough decisions, three surveys by news channels have said Akhilesh is the front runner for the 2017 polls. But that may not be enough for him to retain the CM's chair.

Lately, the dismissal of controversial ministers Gayatri Prajapati and Raj Kisore Singh and the removal of chief secretary Singhal, despite mounting pressure from the party brass, have helped him seal his position within the SP , and in the eyes of the UP public.

Despite a show of assertiveness, Akhilesh still faces challenges. Amar Singh is ilesh still faces challenges. Amar Singh is one. It's no secret that Akhilesh had reservations against Amar's re-entry into the party , yet he supported his RS poll candidature. On Wednesday , he hinted at “outsiders“ meddling with family affairs and fomenting trouble in the party .