Lucknow, December 30 (IANS): Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday expelled his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav from the party for six years for "indulging in anti-party activities". He said the party would now elect a new Chief Minister in the poll-bound state. Also expelled was party General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav who had, earlier in the day, called a national convention of the Samajwadi Party on January 1 following a rift over the list of SP candidates finalised by Mulayam Singh for assembly polls due early next year. The Akhilesh faction with Ram Gopal Yadav's support came up with a separate list of candidates, sparking a crisis in the party which appeared virtually heading towards a split as its five year rule in the state draws to a close. Asserting his authority over the SP, Mulayam said only he, as the party chief, had the right to call a national council meet of the party and nobody else could do it. He said that he would decide who would become the Chief Minister of the state in place of Akhilesh, who may have to vacate his seat post expulsion from the party.
