UP bypolls: Akhilesh Yadav's ‘rishtedar-wadi’ jibe as BJP fields his relative in Karhal, UP minister hits back

Byelections for nine assembly seats, including Karhal, in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for November 13, with results to be declared on November 23

Published on: Oct 25, 2024, 18:18:38 IST

By HT News Desk

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Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of being a “rishtedar-wadi” (family-oriented) party.

"They used to accuse us of being family-oriented, but now they've surpassed us and have become 'rishtedar-wadi'," PTI quoted the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister as saying at an event in Dihuli in Mainpuri district.

Yadav's attack comes after the BJP fielded Anujesh Yadav as its candidate for the bypoll in Karhal assembly seat against SP's Tej Pratap Singh Yadav. Anujesh Yadav is related to SP chief, both being brothers-in-law.

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Samajwadi party national president Akhilesh Yadav (Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times)

Anujesh Yadav is the uncle-in-law ('fufa') of SP candidate Tej Pratap Yadav, on the Karhal seat, considered an SP stronghold since 1993. This race will see a "fufa versus bhatija (nephew)" contest, with Tej Pratap Yadav facing off against Anujesh Yadav, who is related to him by marriage.

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BJP hits back at Akhilesh

Responding to Akhilesh Yadav's attack, Uttar Pradesh minister of state (independent charge) for social welfare Asim Arun said,"It is not a contest between relatives, but a fight of policies, a fight between truth and lies, and one between criminals and those abiding by law."

“Once I was in the adjoining Aligarh district and frequently police would arrest criminals from Mainpuri or vice-versa. But in the last seven years, have you heard of any such arrests in Mainpuri, or kidnapping incidents?” he added.

"Why is that? Because it is the same law but the enforcer has changed. It is the same bulldozer which now got the correct driver," Arun said.

Byelections for nine assembly seats, including Karhal, in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for November 13, with results to be declared on November 23.

Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad) are up for a bypoll.

The seat was represented by Akhilesh Yadav, who vacated it after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj.

(With agency inputs)

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HT News Desk
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