Mainpuri By-Polls: Yogi Adityanath Invokes Mulayam Singh Yadav's Blessings, Targets Shivpal

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned on Monday (28 November) in Mainpuri for the upcoming parliamentary by-polls.

Adityanath targeted the 'Saifai family' including Shivpal Singh Yadav while seeking blessings of Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav at the same time.

The CM said, "Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) said in the parliament in 2019 that BJP will win elections hereafter. We won Azamgarh and Rampur by his blessings and are going to do the same in Mainpuri."

Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat has been with the SP since 1996. Mulayam himself won from here in 1996, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections.

Similarly, Azamgarh and Rampur were also believed to be the SP bastions. However, BJP won the parliamentary by-elections held in June this year.

Adityanath also targeted the "dynasty politics" of SP and said there is "nothing socialist" about it. He pushed for the BJP by citing various welfare schemes and "social works" of its candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya.

He then went on saying that despite being from the same family, SP leaders have clashes among themselves, whereas BJP doesn't have members of the same family but still stays together like a family.

Adityanath was hitting at the relations between Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (SBSP) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and his nephew and former CM Akhilesh Yadav.

He then directly targeted Shivpal by calling him "chacha" and saying that his situation has become like a "pendulum" and he doesn't even get a chair on the stage in the SP function.

Shivpal and Akhilesh's relations have been on and off. The two parties fought the assembly elections together this year but then parted ways.

Akhilesh's wife Dimple Yadav is contesting the Mainpuri by-polls on SP ticket. However, Shivpal was not seen during her nomination filing.

This fueled the speculation that he will not be supporting Dimple's candidature. However, rumours calmed down when on 16 November Shivpal asked his workers to work for Dimple and get votes for her.

The next day, Akhilesh and Dimple met Shivpal in Mainpuri and sought his blessings after weighing his importance in this election as his legislative seat Jaswantnagar falls under Mainpuri parliamentary constituency.

Shivpal has been elected as Jaswantnagar MLA six times and has a substantial influence in the Mainpuri region.

BJP candidate Shakya was considered to be Shivpal's loyalist and his candidature was seen as the BJP's move to exploit the rift in the family.

However, with Shivpal and Akhilesh coming together again, that ploy would have appeared to be failing. That may explain the recent targeting of Shivpal Yadav by BJP.

Another recent development that demands attention is that UP government downgraded Shivpal Yadav's security cover from 'Z' to 'Y' category yesterday.

Akhilesh Yadav called the move 'objectionable' and also hit out at Adityanath for likening his uncle to a pendulum. Shivpal was given 'Z' security in 2018 by the Adityanath government.