Brijesh Pandey

There is a great degree of resentment in the party over the way tickets have been handed out to outsiders in lieu of locals.

Having the disgraced don as the 'law and order mascot' could further BSP's objective of consolidating Dalit-Muslim votebanks.

They think it could well turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

He could have tolerated his opponents within the Samajwadi Party till the UP elections got over.

It is Akhilesh who will head the party, with his uncle being relegated to the footnotes of Samajwadi Party's history.

Its implications are not lost on Mayawati's BSP, which has been working overtime to engineer a Dalit-Muslim combine.

The young UP CM is finally wriggling out of his father's shadow and may emerge as an uncompromising leader willing to walk the talk.

In Samajwadi Party circles, the letter by the chief minister is being seen as an open defiance and virtually sending an ultimatum to his father.

There is never a dull moment when it comes to politics in Uttar Pradesh. 

The SP leader is busy cutting the roots of the very tree that created him and brought him to power in 2012.