UP CM Yogi Adityanath targets SP, calls Shivpal pendulum

Samajwadi Party is fielding Akhilesh's wife and former MP Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri which fell vacant after the death of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Written by Lalmani Verma

Lucknow | Updated: November 29, 2022 02:18 AM IST

2 min read

Adityanath slammed Akhilesh Yadav, claiming he didn't visit his constituency when he was needed there and did not spare his uncle Shivpal Yadav either. (Express file photos)

Campaigning for BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya in Mainpuri, where the Lok Sabha by-election will be held on December 5, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Monday hit out at the rival Samajwadi Party, accusing its leadership of never rising above ‘parivarwad’ or dynasty.

He mocked Shivpal Yadav, who left SP to form Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) and later joined hands with SP, calling him a “pendulum” and comparing him to a football. Addressing a public meeting in Karhal, represented by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, the BJP leader said: “Who are the people who after coming to power made government a family heirloom. Time has come to show them democracy’s strength.”

Etawah, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Agra, Etah, and Kanpur districts have a dominance of Yadav voters and are considered SP strongholds.

SP is fielding Akhilesh’s wife and former MP Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri which fell vacant after the death of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. With Shivpal burying the hatchet with his nephew Akhilesh and seen campaigning for Dimple, Adityanath said, “His (Shivpal) condition has become like a pendulum. One shouldn’t become a pendulum in life because a pendulum has no goal,” Shivpal had earlier expressed unhappiness with Akhilesh after Assembly elections.

Referring to the ongoing football World Cup, Adityanath said: “Some people have become football. People must avoid becoming football and work for honour and respect of Mainpuri. To protect honour and respect, BJP fielded Raghuraj Singh Shakya.”

Shakya, once Shivpal’s close aide, joined BJP in the run-up to the Assembly elections this year.

Lalmani Verma

Lalmani is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, and is based in New Delhi. He covers politics of the Hindi Heartland, tracking BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RLD and other parties based in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Covered the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024; Assembly polls of 2012, 2017 and 2022 in UP along with government affairs in UP and Uttarakhand. ... Read More

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Mainpuri Shivpal Yadav Yogi Adityanath