Jan 19, 2022, 2:55 PM IST
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav joined the BJP on Wednesday, giving a severe blow to the Samajwadi Party ahead of the UP elections. Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav reacting to Aparna Yadav joining BJP, said, “I congratulate her. I am happy that Samajwadi Party's ideology is expanding.” Along with this, when asked whether Mulayam Singh Yadav would have agreed on this, he said that “Netaji would have tried to convince her a lot”.
The young politician ran as a Samajwadi Party candidate in the 2017 state election from Lucknow Cantt, finishing second to Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who had left the Congress to join the BJP. Aparna Yadav has previously praised several of the BJP government's efforts. She also contributed Rs 11 lakh rupees to the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.