In a major blow for the Samajwadi Party ahead of elections, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, joined the BJP on Wednesday, in a move that is being seen as tit-for-tat after several defectors from the saffron party joined hands with Akhilesh Yadav.
Expressing her admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Aparna Yadav said the nation’s interest has always been a priority for her and praised several schemes of the BJP government for cleanliness, woman empowerment and employment.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, praising Aparna Yadav, said she had been from time to time expressing views that showed her inclination towards the BJP.
Aparna Yadav, who is married to Mulayam and Sadhna Gupta’s son Prateek, comes from a Thakur-Bisht background, just like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The daughter of former journalist Arvind Singh Bisht, who later went on to become the information commissioner, Aparna Yadav has roots in Uttarakhand. She holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Politics from Manchester University, UK.
Though she never held any position of responsibility in the SP, she contested the 2017 assembly polls on the party’s ticket and lost to Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Lucknow Cantt. Joshi, now an MP, is seeking a ticket from the BJP for her son from this seat.
Aparna Yadav runs an organisation — bAware — that works for women’s issues and also a shelter for cows in Lucknow.
She hogged headlines in the past for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘development initiatives’. She also donated Rs 11 lakh to the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Aparna Yadav’s decision has come as a surprise for the Samajwadi Party too, especially at a time when the family feud between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav has ended.
Sources tell CNN-News18 that she was promised a legislative council seat after elections but the deal seems to have fallen through.
BJP leader Arun Yadav, who is also the state incharge of Haryana BJP, tweeted that Aparna’s induction into the BJP will happen in the presence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at 10am on Wednesday.
Earlier, dismissing the news, Akhilesh Yadav had termed it an internal issue and reassured that all was well in the family.
UP votes in seven phases between February 10 and March 7; results will be out on March 10.
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