Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has assumed the presidency of the Lohia Trust, replacing his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who had headed the organisation since 2017. The leadership change, which followed a trust meeting in which all members reportedly gave their consent, has ignited fresh political debate in Uttar Pradesh, with SP leaders welcoming it and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders offering a range of reactions — from dismissing it as a family matter to using it as ammunition against the SP chief.

How the Change Came About

According to reports, all members of the Lohia Trust convened and unanimously expressed consent for Akhilesh Yadav to take over as president. Shivpal Singh Yadav had been at the helm since 2017, when the late Mulayam Singh Yadav removed senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav — the trust's original head — and appointed Shivpal during the intense Yadav family feud that preceded the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections that year. The transition thus carries the weight of a long-running intra-family rivalry that has repeatedly reshaped the SP's internal hierarchy.

BJP Ministers Train Guns on Akhilesh

Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar alleged that the change reflects a deep and abiding trust deficit between Akhilesh and Shivpal. He cited Shivpal's past decision to break away from the SP, briefly align with the BJP, and then float his own outfit — the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) — as evidence of irreconcilable differences. Rajbhar recalled that Shivpal had at the time openly accused the SP of being a party of 'thieves and rogues' and alleged it was 'dominated by mafias,' and had further claimed that people involved in encroaching on the land of the poor had entered the party.

Minister Anil Rajbhar went further, alleging that Akhilesh lacks faith in anyone — including himself. 'The head of the Samajwadi Party does not have any trust in anyone. He does not have faith in anyone. He does not even have faith in himself. That is why, if you look at his campaigns and look at his statements, do you see any stability? There is no stability. His issues keep changing, his statements keep changing,' Anil Rajbhar said, even as he added that he did not wish to comment extensively on another family's internal affairs.

Minister Narendra Kashyap took a different tack, arguing that the trust's leadership was ultimately for its members to decide, but suggested it would have been preferable to appoint someone from the social sector rather than a political figure. 'It would have been better if someone from the social sector had been given the opportunity instead of Shivpal or Akhilesh Yadav,' he said, calling the development a reflection of dynastic politics.

SP and Allies Defend the Appointment

SP Member of Parliament Awadhesh Prasad backed the move unreservedly: 'The decision taken by the party's national President is acceptable to everyone.' Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav offered a more measured take, saying the trust had passed from Shivpal to Akhilesh as an internal family matter. 'It is their trust. It was with Shivpal Ji, and now that he is no longer there, it has gone to Akhilesh Yadav. This is their internal family matter, and they will do what they consider appropriate,' he said.

The Lohia Trust's Political Significance

The trust carries considerable symbolic weight within the SP's ideological ecosystem, given its association with socialist icon Ram Manohar Lohia, whose legacy the party has long claimed. Control over the trust is not merely organisational — it is a statement of custodianship over that ideological inheritance. Notably, every major transition within the trust has coincided with a period of factional turbulence in the SP: Ram Gopal Yadav's removal in 2017 mirrored the public break between Akhilesh and Mulayam, and the current change arrives as the party seeks to consolidate ahead of the next electoral cycle in Uttar Pradesh.

With the transition now complete, attention will shift to whether Shivpal — who has since returned to the SP fold — publicly accepts the change or signals fresh friction within the party.