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Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law joins BJP
Aparna Yadav praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said she was drawn to the BJP’s “India first” ideology
LUCKNOW: Ending days of speculation, Aparna Yadav, the younger daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party (SP) patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Wednesday. She was inducted into the party in presence of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev.
“Aparna ji ka bhajapa parivar main swagat hai (Aparna, welcome to the BJP family),” tweeted chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Aparna Yadav praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said she was drawn to the BJP’s “India first” ideology and would commit herself to “worship of the nation”.
She was inducted into the party days after 14 important leaders, mainly from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), defected from the BJP to the SP.
While welcoming her into the party, BJP leaders repeatedly referred to Aparna Yadav as “honourable leader Mulayam Singh’s daughter-in-law”.
In Lucknow, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said his father spoke to Aparna Yadav and attempted to stop her from joining the BJP. He wished her well.
Aparna Yadav said the BJP leadership would take a call on from where she would contest and the regions, she may be sent for campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh polls.
Maurya said Akhilesh Yadav “is not successful even in his family” while Dev said Aparna Yadav’s joined the BJP as she knew the party cared about the safety of women.
Aparna Yadav is the wife of Prateek Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s half-brother. In 2017, she contested the elections from Lucknow Cantt seat as SP candidate but lost to BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
BJP leader Daya Shankar Singh, who accompanied Aparna Yadav to Delhi, said her joining was in the works for almost a month.
Aparna Yadav met BJP chief JP Nadda and Adityanath after joining the party.
