Lucknow: A day after extending an olive branch to Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday met his rebellious son.
The one-to-one meeting lasted for more than 90 minutes.
Akhilesh Yadav left his father's residence without responding to media questions.
In signs of reconciliation, Akhilesh walked down to his father's bungalow next door - the houses are interconnected - for the crucial meeting, the outcome of which will definitely have a bearing on SP's electoral prospects in the poll-bound state.
Party insiders said Akhilesh's warring uncle Shivpal Yadav and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh, often described as an outsider in the Yadav clan, were not present at today's father-son meeting.
The last such meeting between father and son last week had failed to end the impasse in the party which saw a vertical split as Akhilesh was anointed SP chief in place of Mulayam.
A source close to the Chief Minister confirmed the "persisting mutual distrust" but expressed happiness they had met.
On Monday night, Mulayam Singh announced that Akhilesh would be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh if Samajwadi Party retains power.
Amid a bitter tussle for control over the party, Mulayam had never projected Akhilesh as SP chief ministerial candidate and had rather asserted several times that only he will decide who will be the CM if SP came back to power in UP, where Assembly Elections will be held in seven phases from next month.
Party observers pointed out that the absence of Shivpal and Amar Singh at today's meeting was quite significant as their presence might have put off Akhilesh who is not on the same page with his uncle and the Rajya Sabha MP.
They said Mulayam perhaps wanted to settle the matter once and for all by not inviting them for the talks.
Akhilesh's rebellion against his father veers around a demand that Shivpal and Amar Singh be removed from decision making.
The Chief Minister accuses them of instigating Mulayam against him.
Mulayam, however, has so far not indicated that he could meet his son's demand on his two close aides.
Ramgopal Yadav, another uncle of Akhilesh, is on the side of the chief minister and is often accused by the Mulayam camp of misguiding the son.
Political observers feel that by yielding some space to Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh was trying to isolate the Chief Minister by painting him as one who defied not only the party constitution but was greedy for power even if it meant tripping his aging father.
The Samajwadi Party chief is learnt to have reiterated his apprehension that Ramgopal Yadav - who Mulayam Singh says is no part of the party - was misleading Akhilesh Yadav and was jeopardizing his political career.
The Chief Minister is learnt to have heard out his father, presented his side of the story and discussed the future of Ramgopal Yadav, Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh and distribution of tickets and a possible alliance with the Congress.
The sources said the impasse continued as Akhilesh Yadav drove out without making any commitment to his father. He is learnt to have told him that he would consult his team and Ram Gopal Yadav and revert.
Leaders privy to both camps in the Samajwadi Party feel that the chances of a compromise were thin.
Ramgopal has spearheaded Akhilesh's solo campaign, calling a party meeting on January 1 in which the Chief Minister was declared Samajwadi Party president in place of his father.
He also carried to the Election Commission six boxes of documents to prove that Akhilesh commands the loyalty of most party leaders and lawmakers and so is the real leader of the Samajwadi Party and must be permitted to retain the party's 'cycle' symbol to contest the UP elections. But, in the process, he invited the wrath of Mulayam who demanded derecognition of Ramgopal as leader of SP in Rajya Sabha following his expulsion from the party.
For a second time in a week, Mulayam Singh yesterday met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi to assert his claim over 'cycle' and then blamed cousin and Rajya Sabha member Ramgopal Yadav for the feud within the party.
Mulayam wrote to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari informing him about the expulsion of Ramgopal from the party and, in effect, as its leader in the Upper House.
He also urged Ansari to shift Ramgopal's seat to the back benches following his expulsion from the party.
(With Agency inputs)
