The Samajwadi Party's Uttar Pradesh chief Shivpal Yadav (pictured above) on Sunday said he would pitch his nephew, Akhilesh Yadav's name, for the chief minister's post if the party wins the 2017 Assembly elections, The Times of India reported. Shivpal Yadav's statement came a day after the party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's October 14 announcement that Samajwadi Party legislators and the Parliamentary Board would select the next chief minister of the state. The party has been mired in controversy after reports of a feud within the Yadav family surfaced.

Shivpal Yadav said, "The party is united. Some people enjoy power out of sheer destiny and some due to family legacy, while there are some who do not get what they deserve despite hard work. But, I feel satisfied working for the people and have the blessings of Netaji [Mulayam Singh Yadav]." On October 14, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said he might have to start his campaign for the upcoming state elections on his own. However, he died reports about the feud in the family.

The alleged family feud was triggered by party president Mulayam Singh Yadav appointing his brother and Akhilesh's uncle, Shivpal Yadav, as the state party chief. The move, which was reportedly triggered by fears of an anti-incumbency vote, didn't go down well with the chief minister, who then relieved his uncle of major portfolios in the state Cabinet. Mulayam Singh Yadav had to intervene to bring the situation under control. Shivpal Yadav has sacked many of Akhilesh's supporters, who had protested against his appointment as state party chief.