A day after breaking its alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Monday hit out at SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, saying he couldn’t even keep his family members together.

“Alright, he says that I am wrong. But Shivpal is his uncle…He (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) cannot even handle his own uncle, his sister-in-law, his own family, how would he handle me?” he asked as he addressed the press in Jaunpur.

On Sunday, Rajbhar announced that his party is ending ties with the SP, while indicating that his party might join hands with Mayawati’s BSP. His move came a day after SP asked Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav to go wherever they felt they could gather more respect, while alleging that Rajbhar has been cosying up with the BJP.

“Our (SBSP’s) alliance with the Samajwadi Party is no more. Akhilesh Yadav is unable to control his uncle Shivpal Yadav and sister-in-law Aparna Yadav, so how will he control me? He does not listen to anyone,” Rajbhar told journalists.

He had also repeated his earlier claims that Akhilesh Yadav was disconnected with his own party and allies by running his party from “air-conditioned rooms” instead of going out there on the ground.

While answering questions on future alliances, the SBSP chief said, “Some party leaders are of the view that we should go with the BSP. I also personally feel that we should speak with the BSP. The BSP performed well in the recent bypolls held in Azamgarh,” while adding, “Mayawati spends more time in the field as compared to Akhilesh Yadav.” Rajbhar further claimed that Akhilesh Yadav had indulged in favouritism while distributing tickets in the recently held UP Vidhan Sabha polls.

In this year’s UP Assembly elections, Akhilesh Yadav’s party had tied up with several local parties like Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD, Rajbhar’s SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) of Shivpal Yadav, Keshav Dev Maurya’s Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party. Soon after their defeat, the alliance fell like a house of cards with the Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party already breaking their ties with the SP. Rajbhar’s party, which is dominant in eastern UP, had won six seats earlier this year in the UP Assembly elections.