Aparna Yadav terms talks of her joining BJP as ‘baseless’
Aparna Yadav, the younger daughter in law of the Samajwadi Party's founder president Mulayam Singh Yadav, is back in the news. Her back to back meetings with the new chief minister Yogi Adityanath has in fact triggered speculations that she might even migrate to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"No, that's totally baseless. People just talk; all the more when a woman tries to do something worthwhile. Before I met Yogiji, Netaji (Mulayam) and Bhaiya (Akhilesh Yadav) attended his swearing in and met him. I had met Yogiji even before. There's nothing new about me meeting him," says Aparna.
Aparna, 26, was the Samajwadi Party candidate from the Lucknow Cantt constituency and lost the election to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
Aparna and her husband Prateek Yadav (the younger son of Mulayam) first had a brief meeting with Yogi Adityanath two days after he became the chief minister. And then the couple was seen with Yogi during his cow shelter visit in Lucknow.
About her defeat, Aparna says she was caught in the crossfire (in the Yadav family feud). "Or else I would have won. I often say, my boat sank when the shore was in sight...the wounds inflicted by our own are far deeper. But I fought well. I contested the seat from where Samajwadi Party had never won an election," she told Hindustan Times.
Aparna on Sunday held a 'thanksgiving' meeting in Lucknow Cantt. "I told the people that I was not the one who would blame EVMs for my defeat. I lost because I got hardly any support from the party. Only one leader, Ashok Bajpai, was with me frequently. At booth level, there was no party support. "
Aparna at the same time also says that the EVM matter should be investigated. “If it is proven, then fresh polls should be held. Next polls should be held through ballot papers,” she says.