Quami Ekta Dal to merge with Samajwadi Party despite Akhilesh’s opposition

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s party Quami Ekta Dal is once again set to merge with ruling Samajwadi Party ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2017. 

Samajwadi Party had earlier called off its merger with Quami Ekta Dal after stiff resistance from Akhilesh Yadav. The canlled-off merger caused an upheavel within the party as several senior SP leaders, including Balram Yadav, Shivpal Yadav and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav were in favour of the merger. 

However, Akhilesh opposed the merger and successfully compelled the top leadership to bow to his wishes. But the tables of internal party politics seems to have turned in SP, as the party has now reportedly agreed to merge with QED again. 

On Monday, UP cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav threatened to resign from the party, following which SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav stopped him from quitting the party ahead of crucial elections. Mulayam Singh also heavily criticised Akhilesh Yadav for his inability to appreciaite ‘hard working and dedicated’ leaders like Shivpal Yadav and inability to take action against ‘corrupt and sycophant’ leaders in his cabinet. 

 QED is a regional party in Uttar Pradesh, India, founded in 2010. The QED's president is Afzal Ansari and is currently affiliated with Ekta Manch. The QED managed to muster 354,578 votes in the 2014 Indian general election. 

The party is led by Afzal Ansari and has two MLAs—Mukhtar Ansari from Mau Sadar and Sigbatullaha Ansari from Mohammadabad Yusufpur seat. Both are Afzal’s brothers.