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Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll: Dimple Yadav strikes a chord with village women on campaign trail
The elderly women bless Dimple Yadav, the ‘bahu’ (daughter-in-law) of netaji (SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) whose death on October 10 at the age of 82 caused the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll
After a long wait for Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, a group of party workers at a diversion on Karhal-Ghiror Road in Mainpuri spring to life and run alongside a car which is part of a convoy that slows down.
Soon, the slogans of “Dimple Bhabhi Zindabad’ and “Akhilesh Bhaiyya Zindabad” are heard on a single-lane road near Reda village.
It is the convoy of Samajwadi Party’s Mainpuri candidate Dimple Yadav. She emerges briefly from the car with a smile and her hands folded. The slogans become more vociferous as the convoy continues its journey with Dimple Yadav’s campaign focusing more on rural pockets than urban areas.
She mostly begins her campaign at about 12 noon and continues till 5pm, if she is visiting areas far from the city. Though usually on her own, she is sometimes accompanied by her ‘dewar’ (brother-in-law) Tej Pratap Yadav or Dharmendra Yadav, both former Samajwadi Party MPs.
Since day one, Dimple Yadav has been focusing more on women in the villages. The elderly women bless the ‘bahu’ (daughter-in-law) of netaji (SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) whose death on October 10 at the age of 82 caused the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll.
The soft-spoken Dimple Yadav appears to strike a chord with women voters, particularly in the rural belt.
For instance, Sarbati Devi, 71, from a village near Ghiror describes Dimple as a good “bahu”.
“Zyada bolne se kya faida? Jo kaam ka hai so bol rahin hain (What is the use of unnecessary words? She says what matters),” says Sarbati Devi about Dimple who makes it a point to touch the feet of the village elders.
She appeals to all the women: “Vote dene zaroor aana (do come to vote)” as the convoys leaves for the next village.
At Rathera village, her visit is transformed into an impromptu road show as the stretch is narrow.
As news of her visit spreads, residents of nearby villages also arrive to catch a glimpse of Mulayam’s bahu.
“Sab party mahila ki baat karti hain par ticket nahin deti. Accha hoga agar hamari MP mahila ho (All parties talk of women empowerment but fail to give a ticket. It seems a good idea to have a woman as our MP),” says a woman.
Dimple Yadav seems more at home while travelling in village pockets where tents are pitched to welcome her. She is surrounded by women in ‘ghoonghat’ (veil) who want to see the “bahu” who could well become the first woman MP from Mainpuri, the seat represented by her father- in-law five times.
She focuses on netaji, her father-in-law.
“It is not my election but that of netaji who always had special affection and care for those from Mainpuri. Netaji is now not with us, but we need to follow in his footsteps, follow the principles he laid down. Vote for the cycle, the symbol of the party which netaji founded. He began his struggle in politics from Mainpuri,” Dimple Yadav says.
Polling will be held on December 5. And it will be known on December 8 whether Mainpuri gets its first woman MP or not.
