PTI

NEW DELHI, Jan 17: Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today accepted the resignation of his close associate Amar Singh from all party posts including that of general secretary and Parliamentary Board.

SP sources said Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is in Etawah today, accepted Singh's resignation after his efforts to placate the latter did not bear fruit.

Amar Singh had resigned on January 6 from the post of SP general secretary, national spokesperson and member of Parliamentary Board citing poor health. He had undergone a kidney transplant operation in Singapore last year.

However, the real reason for Singh's resignation is said to be his differences with another senior SP leader and Mulayam Singh's cousin, Ram Gopal Yadav.

After Singh sent his resignation from Dubai, a bitter war of words began between him and Ram Gopal.

While Amar Singh remained adamant on his resignation, Ram Gopal said the former had lost his mental balance. The SP chief had maintained that he would convince Singh to take back his resignation, but failed to sway him.

Ram Gopal has held Singh responsible for SP's association with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, which, he felt led to the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls and the Ferozabad by-election.

SP leaders including Jaya Prada, Jaya Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt had threatened to quit their party posts in the wake of Singh's resignation.