Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday sacked his son Akhilesh Yadav’s confidante Ramgopal Yadav from the post of secretary of the Lohia Trust. He appointed Shivpal Yadav to the post instead, NDTV reported. Mulayam Singh’s action comes two days before the party holds its Uttar Pradesh convention.

The Lohia Trust, named after socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, is headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. On August 8, at a meeting of the trust, the Samajwadi Party chief had sacked four of Akhilesh Yadav’s loyalists. They were replaced with people belonging to Shivpal Yadav’s camp.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s action indicates that the rift between the father and the son still persists. However, senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Choudhury had said that the blessings of Mulayam Singh Yadav are always with Akhilesh Yadav. “Also, there is no problem with Shivpal Singh Yadav. How can he leave his nephew [Akhilesh]?”