The infighting in the Samajwadi Party is like a “family drama full of comedy”, but it will result in a “tragedy” and consequently, a “total pack up”, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said on Twitter on Sunday. His statement came soon after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was declared the Samajwadi Party’s national president by his uncle Ram Gopal Yadav and supporters at a national executive meeting in Lucknow.

Another Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said that the rivalry within the Samajwadi Party proved that the BJP was the only other option the state had, The Indian Express reported. “We are very sure that people will reject this confused party’s government in UP and opt for a government that wants to see them develop under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s able leadership,” he said.

Soon after Akhilesh Yadav was declared the SP national chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who holds the position, said the national convention was held in violation of party rules, and those who attended it would be penalised. He expelled Ram Gopal Yadav from the party for six years once again, a day after withdrawing an expulsion order issued against him.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Sudhindra Bhadoria said, “We have been witnessing this family drama...for the last six months. Now and then they are expelled, then they are taken back into the party again. I am quite sure that in the days to come, people will give them a rebuff and show both Akhilesh Yadav and his father the door, and this party will be forgotten forever,” according to The Indian Express report.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister took to Twitter to say he was obligated to make a “tough decision”. “Sometimes to protect the ones you love, you must make the right decision. What I did today was a tough decision, but one that I had to take,” he said.

On December 30, both Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav were expelled from the Samajwadi Party, soon after Mulayam Singh issued a show cause notice to the chief minister for releasing his own list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh polls. The chief minister’s supporters had held demonstrations in various parts of the state to protest against his expulsion, and the order was withdrawn within 24 hours.

The Samajwadi Party has faced infighting since September, when Shivpal Yadav was appointed the state SP chief. Akhilesh Yadav had then relieved Shivpal Yadav of his Cabinet portfolios, once in September and again in November. Despite interventions from Mulayam Singh Yadav, the rift in the party has remained, with Akhilesh Yadav’s supporters reportedly functioning independently out of a separate office in Lucknow.