In a show of bonhomie during the campaign for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday touched the feet of his uncle Shivpal Yadav and asserted that there has never been any strain in their relationship.
Addressing an election rally in the family bastion of Saifai, Akhilesh Yadav also asserted that his party will register a historic win in the bypoll.
Dimple Yadav, the wife of Akhilesh Yadav, has been fielded from the seat, which has been represented by the SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Mulayam Singh last month.
"The bypolls are taking place at a time, when netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) is not among us. The entire country is watching this election, and I can say that the entire country will see how the Samajwadi Party registers a historic win," Akhilesh Yadav said.
After remaining at loggerheads since 2017, Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle had decided to mend fences before the 2022 assembly polls.
The both had put up a united front at the behest of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
However, the strains appeared again after the poll in which the BJP came back to power.
"At times people say that there is dooriyaan (distance). There was no dooriyaan between chacha (uncle) and bhatija (nephew). Dooriyaan was there in politics. I had never considered any dooriyaan between uncle and nephew. And, I am happy that today the dooriyaan in politics has also ended," Akhilesh Yadav said, remarks which evoked an applause from the audience.
"And, it is because of this that the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is feeling frightened. It (BJP) knows that the people of Jaswantnagar (represented in UP Assembly by Shivpal Singh Yadav) have made up their mind (to vote for the SP), Karhal (represent by Akhilesh Yadav in UP Assembly) is also walking along (with the SP), and the people of Mainpuri too have made up their mind (to go with the SP)," the SP chief said.
The poll campaigning on Sunday saw Akhilesh Yadav, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohiya chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and SP's general secretary Ramgopal Yadav sharing stage.
Akhilesh Yadav had on Thursday last met PSPL chief along with his wife and party candidate Dimple Yadav.
In a tweet after the meeting, Akhilesh Yadav said, "Along with the blessings of Netaji and elders of the family, the people of Mainpuri are also with us."
Akhilesh Yadav had also shared a picture with Shivpal Singh Yadav.
Shivpal Yadav on Wednesday last held a meeting with party workers and exhorted them to ensure the victory of the SP candidate in the bypoll.
Shivpal Singh Yadav's role in the election is important as his assembly constituency Jaswantnagar comes under the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency.
Shivpal has a close relationship with the people of Mainpuri and used to go as Mulayam's representative in various programmes held in the area when the SP patriarch was unavailable.
The PSP(L) chief's campaigning in favour of Dimple is also considered important as the BJP has nominated Raghuraj Singh Shakya, who was once a close aide of Shivpal Yadav, as its candidate from this seat.
Polling in Mainpuri will be held on December 5, while counting of votes will take place on December 8.
The fight in Mainpuri is mainly between Dimple Yadav of SP and Raghuraj Singh Shakya of the BJP.
The Mainpuri parliamentary constituency has five assembly segments of Mainpuri, Bhongaon, Kishni, Karhal and Jaswant Nagar. In the 2022 assembly elections, the SP won the Karhal, Kishni and the Jaswant Nagar seats, while the BJP won the Mainpuri and the Bhogaon seats.
Akhilesh's Karhal assembly seat is part of Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency and so is Jaswant Nagar, which is represented by Shivpal Yadav.
