YADAV FAMILY PRESENTS UNITED FACE IN SAIFAI

KANPUR: Unlike five years ago when they seemed deeply divided, the Mulayam Singh Yadav family presented a united face in Saifai, their hometown, 20 km from Etawah.

The only faces that were missing were Yadav’s younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, his (Mulayam’s) wife Sadhna Gupta and younger son Pratik Yadav. Ahead of the UP assembly elections, Aparna had joined the BJP but asserted her decision would not impact the family bonds.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple Yadav, father Mulayam Singh Yadav, uncles Shivpal Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav, cousins and scores of other close relatives gathered at the ancestral house in Saifai. The family came together before leaving for the Abhinav School where they were to vote.

Most noticeable was Ram Gopal and Shivpal going together to the polling centre to vote. Shivpal said the SP would register the “biggest victory” and Akhilesh has his blessings.

“We have to make Akhilesh (Yadav) chief minister again,” he said.Asked about the rumours of the SP plotting his defeat from Jaswant Nagar, Shivpal was furious and asked the journalists to behave. “The competition is among the people of Karhal and his seat Jaswant Nagar. They will decide who will get a bigger margin among us,” he said. Ahead of the 2017 elections, Shivpal and Akhilesh had been locked in a political feud culminating in Akhilesh, who was chief minister at the time, taking control of the party. Experts say the tussle had affected the party’s chances at the hustings and the SP lost the 2017 election.