NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday justified the turn of events in Samajwadi Party even as he admitted that the decision he had taken was “tough”.

On a day of dramatic developments, Akhilesh said in a tweet, “Sometimes to protect the ones you love you must make the right decision. What I did today was a tough decision, but one that I had to take”.

The battle between the two factions of Samajwadi Party is likely to reach the Election Commission, with Akhilesh camp hinting that it will stake a claim to the party’s symbol ‘cycle’.

The party split on Sunday with a national convention declaring Akhilesh Yadav the new national president, a post that was held by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. The convention also made Mulayam Singh, the Samajwadi party’s founder, the patron of the party.

However, this was just the beginning. As the day progressed, the fight between the rival factions turned ugly, with supporters of the two groups fighting for the party office.

And while the supporters clashed on the streets, both Mulayam Singh and his son Akhilesh continued to precipitate the crisis with expulsions.

Meanwhile, news agencies reported that doctors have conducted a health check-up of Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence after complaint of high blood pressure.

ALSO READ:

Crisis of SP continues, reaches to Election Commission, clash for party office

'Akhilesh Yadav' announced as SP President, Shivpal Yadav sacked