UP elections: Mulayam Singh's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav to join BJP on Jan 19: Sources

In a major scoop from poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Republic on Tuesday learnt that Samajwadi Party's founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav will be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party on January 19. Aparna, in the past, has often come forward to support the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government and has also been spotted with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Aparna to contest from Lucknow Cantt?

Wife of Prateek Yadav, step-brother of Akhilesh Yadav, Aparna in the 2017 assembly elections had contested from Lucknow Cantt against BJP's Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi and lost by a margin of 33,796 votes. Speaking about her loss, Aparna has in numerous interviews claimed that she was given a ticket by SP in a constituency widely dominated by the BJP. 'The loss was inevitable,' she has often said. 

Buzz, however, is that even the BJP is planning to give Aparna a ticket from the Lucknow Cantt. 

Aparna has not been a fan of the policies, points and opinions followed by the SP, and has often come forward to criticise it on the public platforms. The young politician once said she "could not take responsibility" for what her family had done in the past. Her remark came in response to Mulayam Singh Yadav's actions as the UP Chief Minister in 1990. During his tenure, Yadav had given controversial orders to the UP police to open fire on kar sevaks near the Babri Masjid, an act that caused a massive uproar across the state and the country.

In fact, also on controversial topics like the National Register of Citizens, Aparna openly defied the stance of the SP. Taking to her official Twitter handle, she wrote, "If someone belongs to India, what problem do they have to get registered in the roster?" with hashtags like #NRCBill #NRCProtest. 

At a time, when Akhilesh Yadav was out and about inciting vaccine hesitancy, Aparna was urging people to get vaccinated through her social media platform. She had even shared a poster with her picture that read, "Don't keep any doubt in your mind, when your turn comes, go and get vaccinated.  

Her induction into the BJP could turn the tables for the ruling party, which has suffered many deflections ahead of UP elections that are set to be held in seven phases. The will commence on February 10 and end on March 7. \

The polling for the first four phases will be held on February 10, 14, 20 and 23 respectively, while the remaining three phases will take place on February 27, March 3 and March 7. Meanwhile, the counting of votes and the declaration of results will take place on March 10.