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Mainpuri bypolls: SP's Dimple Yadav gets JD(U), Congress support; to face BJP brunt
The Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh was left vacant following the death of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav last month. It is considered an SP bastion.
Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav will face the Bharatiya Janata Party's Raghuraj Singh Shakya next month in a bypoll for the Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri. The seat was held by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav till he died on October 10. Dimple Yadav is Mulayam's daughter-in-law; she is married to his son and party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The BJP - which retained power in UP after an election in February-March despite a strong challenge from the Samajwadi Party - announced its nominee a day after Dimple Yadav's candidature was confirmed. Neither the Congress nor Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party will field a candidate this election as 'tribute' to Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The BJP has also ignored an appeal by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United); party spokesperson KC Tyagi had said, "We appeal to all, including BJP and BSP, to not contest the election and support Dimple Yadav. This will be a true tribute to Mulayam Singh Yadav."
The BJP and the JDU were allies in Bihar till August, when Nitish Kumar walked out of the ruling alliance and joined hands with then-rivals Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The saffron party's candidate is a two-time MLA and former Samajwadi Party leader who was formerly with Shivpal Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party before he jumped to the BJP.
Also Read | Mainpuri bypoll: Samajwadi Party names Shivpal Yadav as star campaigner
Shivpal Yadav is Akhilesh Yadav's estranged uncle; the two seemed to patch things up ahead of the Assembly election in March but have drifted apart (again) since.
The BJP's pick of Raghuraj Singh Shakya is being seen as a canny choice as it looks to prise Mainpuri from its rivals in the same way it claimed Azamgarh and Rampur in June. Both were considered Samajwadi Party bastions - they were held by Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan.
UP deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak has declarde the BJP will record a thumping win.
The Congress' decision to stay away came after senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra consulted the party high command. The decision is seen as a goodwill gesture towards the Samajwadi Party - with whom ties are strained - ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
With 80 seats, UP is one the most important states in national polls and the Congress will want friendly relations with as many parties as possible when votes are cast in two years.
Mulayam Singh Yadav was widely seen as one of the state's tallest socialist leaders.
Tomorrow (Thursday) is the last date for filing nominations for the Mainpuri bypoll.
Voting will take place on December 5 (with the second phase of the Gujarat election) as will bypolls for five Assembly seats across UP, Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. All votes (including those from the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election) will be counted December 8.
