Lucknow, Feb 1 (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday made light of the announcement by Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav of forming a separate outfit after the March 11 assembly results.

Accusing Shivpal Yadav of being involved in a "family drama" along with his elder brother Mulayam Singh Yadav, so as to "insulate Akhilesh Yadav from an imminent defeat", state BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said all talk of feud in Uttar Pradesh's first family and the ruling party were "well planned and executed according to a written script".

"The whole effort of the SP leadership was to deflect the minds of the people from poor governance of five years but they have been exposed thoroughly," he said while questioning the divide in the family.

He also said that if the situation was so bad that Shivpal Yadav was contemplating floating a new party, why was he still contesting on a SP symbol and ticket.

"If it is so bad then he should contest as an independent," the BJP leader said while questioning the use of Mulayam Singh Yadav's name and pictures by his son in the party's election rallies.

"Mulayam Singh Yadav has already expressed his opposition to the Congress-SP alliance and has said he will not campaign for them, then what stops him from asking these parties not to use his pictures and name in publicity materials," Pathak told IANS.

The "entire campaign" which rolled out in August 2016, he contended, had been done to paint the Chief Minister as a doer and helping him to comeback to power.

"People have, however, made up their mind to throw out this corrupt and incompetent government and vote the BJP in," he claimed.