After Raje Files Complaint With EC, Sharad Yadav Expresses 'Regret' For Body Shaming Her

New Delhi: A day after Vasundhara Raje urged the Election Commission to take action against Sharad Yadav for body shaming her during an election rally in Alwar, the senior Bihar politician on Saturday said he will apologise to the Rajasthan chief minister.

“I saw her statement. I have very old family relations with her. If my words hurt her, I express my regret. I will also write a letter to her," Yadav was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

On December 5 at a rally in Alwar, the senior politician chose to pick on Raje’s physical appearance and body shamed her.

“Vasundhra ko aaram do, bahut thak gayi hain, bahut moti ho gayi hain, pehle patli thi. Humare Madhya Pradesh ki beti hai (Give some rest to Vasundhra, she has become very tired, very fat. She used to be thin. She is our Madhya Pradesh’ daughter)," Yadav can be seen telling the crowd in the 19-second video clip shared by news agency ANI.

Raje is fighting for a second consecutive term in the state which voted on December 7. She is contesting this year’s Assembly polls from her Jhalrapatan constituency against BJP veteran Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh, who had recently joined the Congress.

On Friday, after casting her vote in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, Raje said," I am absolutely shocked because I don't think any leader with such experience and who had such close relations with our family can say such a thing.

Earlier, Yadav tried to downplay the controversy, terming it as humour. "I said it as a joke. I've old relations with her. It wasn't derogatory in any way. I had no intentions of hurting her. When I met her, I told her then also that you're gaining weight," he told news agency ANI.

The Bihar leader has been known to make controversial and sexist statements in the past as well. In 2015, Yadav, while participating in a discussion in the parliament, suddenly started describing the beauty of "saanvli (dusky)" South Indian women.

Last year, Sharad Yadav made a strange connection between the "honour of a vote and a daughter's honour".