Samawjadi Party becomes the largest political family in UP as Aparna Yadav, the younger daughter-in-law of the party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has decided to make her debut in politics and contest the 2017 State Assembly election from lucknow Cantt constituency. The candidature of Aparna Yadav as SP candidate from lucknow Cantt was announced by Shivpal Singh Yadav, chief spokesman of the party here on Sunday.
Dimple Yadav, the elder Bahu of Mulayam Singh Yadav and the wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, is the second-term lok Sabha MP of the party from Kannauj seat. However, Aparna, mother of a kid will contest the polls from the prestigious lucknow Cantonment Assembly constituency on Samajwadi Party ticket.
At present, the lucknow Cantt seat is represented by Congress member and former UP Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Earlier, on Friday last the ruling SP had announced candidates in 142 Assembly seats thus becoming the first political party in the State to officially announce the candidates for the Assembly polls.
Social activist Aparna Yadav (27) is a post graduate in international relations and politics from Manchester University and trained as singer in classical and semi-classical music from Bhatkhande Music Institute, lucknow. She recorded promotional songs for the SP during the lok Sabha polls 2014 and is a regular performer at Saifai Mahotsav and lucknow Mahotsav.
She had created controversy after she praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan, shared a selfie with Modi on social media, and posted against cow slaughter. More recently, she had opposed Aamir Khan for his comments on intolerance at a time when Mulayam has expressed his support to the actor.
She has caused unease to the Samajwadi Party beyond social media too. In September, Aparna went to Gorakhnath temple to meet Yogi Adityanath after the death of Mahant Awaidhnath. However, Aparna, wife of Mulayam’s son Prateek, wished her brother-in-law Akhilesh another term as UP Chief Minister and declares that Mulayam is the politician she admires the most.
Aparna also works with a social organisation, Harsh Foundation, as the brand ambassador for its women empowerment campaign B Aware. She has addressed girl students in nearly a dozen districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Aparna’s first appearance at a party function was in October 2015 when she sat alongside Prateek during the SP national convention in lucknow.
With the debut of Aparna Yadav in politics, Mulayam Singh-led Samajwadi Party has become the largest political family in the Hindi heartland of UP.
The total number of elected representatives from the SP first family has gone up to 12.
While Mulayam himself is an MP from Azamgarh, his son Akhilesh Yadav is an MlC and the Chief Minister of UP. Akhilesh’s wife Dimple is a two-time lok Sabha MP from Kannauj. Mulayam’s nephew Dharmendra Yadav is an MP from Badaun. Cousin of SP chief, Ram Gopal Yadav is a Rajya Sabha MP. Ram Gopal Yadav’s son Akshay Pratap is an MP from Firozabad.
The SP supremo’s younger brother Shivpal Yadav is an MlA and a senior minister in the UP government holding important portfolios like PWD, Irrigation and Cooperatives. The youngest member of the family Tej Pratap Yadav is an MP from Mainpuri. Tej Pratap is married to Bihar RJD chief lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rajlaxmi
Aditya Yadav, son of Shivpal Yadav is chairman of a cooperative body PCF and is likely to contest the 2017 assembly election from Jaswant nagar seat in 2017, presently held by his father. The other members of the first family of the SP were elected to panchyat bodies in the elections held earlier this year.