In a major setback to the Samajwadi Party ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Aparna Yadav, daughter-in-law of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and sister-in-law to Akhilesh Yadav, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday. According to sources, Aparna Yadav has sought a ticket from the Lucknow Cantt Assembly seat. Aparna is the wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Pratik. In 2011, AparnaYadav married Pratik Yadav.
Aparna Yadav expressed her gratitude to the party and said that “nation comes first”, adding that she admires Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work. “I am very thankful to BJP. The nation always comes first for me. I admire PM Modi’s work,” said Aparna Yadav after she joined the party at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. “I have also been influenced with BJP’s works and schemes including Swachh Bharat mission, welfare of women, employment. I will work in my fullest capacity,” she added.
In the past, she had praised BJP’s initiatives in the state and had also donated Rs 11 lakh for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
In 2017 Assembly elections, Aparna had contested from Lucknow Cantonment but was defeated by BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi. She had secured nearly 63,000 votes.
Speculation is rife that she wants to be fielded from the Lucknow Cantonment seat. Aparna feels that she has worked in the Lucknow Cantonment constituency. Aparna Yadav told ANI, “I have done a lot of work in that area and I am confident that I will do well.” She further said, “The final decision lies with my party, BJP, and whatever decision the core committee of the party takes will be acceptable to me.” “I have always been very vocal about the policies and ideologies of PM Modi and BJP. Nationalism is a very important aspect of my life. I’ve always thought of nation before anything. Whatever they’ll say, I do it (will you contest from Lucknow Cantt seat),” she added.
On asking whether her brother-in-law Akhilesh Yadav is now nervous, Aparna said, “What can I say?”
Aparna joined BJP in the presence of UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and BJP state president, Swatantra Dev Singh.
With the joining of Aparna Yadav, the party is hoping to have dealt a blow to the Yadav family. When a close family member leaves a party that is dynastic in nature, just few days to go before the election, it says a lot about the party, said sources in the BJP.
BJP sources went on to say that it really shows that not even the near and dear ones of the Yadav family are together or have any bonding despite the fact that the patriarch of the party Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) is still active in politics.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya took a swipe at former state Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying that though he claimed credit for several developmental works in the state he does not have the courage to fight the forthcoming assembly elections from these constituencies. “He (Akhilesh) used to claim that his government had started several developmental works. But now he does not have the courage to fight elections from any of these constituencies. I am surprised,” Maurya said.
Slamming Akhilesh, Maurya further said, “The former CM and SP president Akhilesh Yadav is not successful in his own family. He has also been unsuccessful in being the CM of the state. He is unsuccessful as a member of parliament too.”
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Aparna Yadav liked the party’s “double engine work” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision. Yogi Adityanath, in an exclusive interview with ANI, welcomed Aparna Yadav in the party and said, “She (Aparna Yadav) liked BJP’s ‘double engine work’ and PM Modi’s vision.” The Chief Minister also asserted that the party hopes that Aparna Yadav will strengthen BJP with her work.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Nitin Agarwal stepped down from his post and also resigned from the primary membership of the Samajwadi Party. Nitin Agarwal who was also Samajwadi Party MLA from Hardoi constituency got elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in October 2021. He joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2018 along with his father and former SP leader Naresh Agarwal, however, he was still an MLA from the SP government when elected as Deputy Speaker of UP Assembly.
UTTARAKHAND
The late Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat’s brother Colonel Vijay Rawat (Retd), joined the BJP on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming Uttarakhand elections. This came after Vijay Rawat met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Delhi earlier on Wednesday. “I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to join BJP. My father was with BJP after retiring and now I’ve gotten a chance”, said Rawat. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is out-of-the-box. His thoughts about the development of the country inspire us to join BJP”, he added.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS.