Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, who is in fray for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, has declared movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 14 crore.
According to the affidavit filed along with the nomination papers, she has total assets of Rs 14.32 crore, including movable assets worth Rs 4.7 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 9.62 crore. Dimple’s husband and SP president Akhilesh Yadav has immovable assets worth Rs 17.22 crore and movable assets worth more than Rs 8.33 crore.
Former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav has liabilities to the tune of over Rs 17.2 lakh, while his wife Dimple has shown liabilities to the tune of over Rs 14.26 lakh.
According to the affidavit, Dimple has more than two-and-a-half kg (2774.674 grams) of gold ornaments, 203 grams of pearls and 127.75 carats of diamonds. The total cost of all these ornaments is Rs 59.77 lakh.
She has a computer worth Rs 1.25 lakh but she does not own a car or any other vehicle. Dimple, who was an MP from Kannauj in 2012 and 2014, obtained a bachelor’s degree (BCom) from Lucknow University in the year 1998. She married Akhilesh Yadav in the year 1999.
She has been fielded by the Samajwadi Party for the bypoll to Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat which fell vacant after the death of party’s founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The names of Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav and nephew Tej Pratap Yadav were also doing the rounds as probable candidates for the Mainpuri seat but finally, Dimple was fielded.
Voting will be held on December 5 while the counting of votes on December 8. Mainpuri is a Samajwadi Party stronghold and it was from this seat that Mulayam was first elected an MP in 1996.
He successfully contested from the seat three more times — 2004, 2009 and 2019. In the 2014 bypoll, the seat was won by Akhilesh’s Tej Pratap Yadav.
The election will be a litmus test for Akhilesh Yadav as it will be the first electoral battle for the party without Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Dimple Yadav has contested the Lok Sabha polls four times – 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2019. She lost the first election from Firozabad Lok Sabha seat but won from Kannauj twice and lost the 2019 election.
She won the Kannauj Lok Sabha bypoll unopposed in 2012 when Akhilesh resigned to enter the state legislative council as he had become the UP chief minister.
She then won the same seat in the 2014 general elections and lost to BJP’s Subrat Pathak in 2019. Apart from Mainpuri, bypolls will also be held for Rampur Sadar and Khatauli Assembly constituencies.