UP bypoll: In bid to checkmate Shivpal, Akhilesh fields wife Dimple from Mainpuri

Sources in the party, however, said that anger among the people of Mainpuri towards Tej Pratap made Akhilesh lean towards Dimple’s candidature.

“The people of Mainpuri feel that Tej Pratap didn’t do enough for them when he was their MP. By fielding Tej Pratap, the party would have lost some votes because of the discontent among the people towards him. Fielding Dimple is a safe bet. She is seen as the bahu (daughter-in-law) by the people of Mainpuri and they would like to vote for the bahu trying to retain her sasur’s (father-in-law’s) seat and legacy. She will fare well,” said an SP leader.

Dimple, who married Akhilesh in 1999 and has been an MP, is not perceived as someone who is eager to play an active role in the party. She made her electoral debut in 2009 when contested the Firozabad Lok Sabha bypoll, but lost to actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar, who had contested on a Congress ticket.

Dimple then went on to win from Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency twice – first in the 2012 bypoll and then in the 2014 general elections.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, she, however, failed to retain Kannauj after losing the seat to BJP’s Subrat Pathak by over 12,000 votes. Born to Thakur parents with a background in the Army, many in the SP feel that Thakurs in Mainpuri would back Dimple in the bypoll.

Though Mainpuri is dominated by Yadavs, the party knows that with its traditional support of Muslim and Yadav voters, the party may fall short of a win.

Yadavs account for more than five lakh voters, but there are nearly four lakh non-Yadav OBCs, including Shakyas, Sainis, Mauryas, Lodhs and others. There are around 2.5 lakh Dalits and around 1 lakh Muslims. The remaining voters are from different upper castes, including around 70,000 Thakurs.

Mulayam may have won the seat five times – in 1996, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 – but his victory margin in the last Lok Sabha elections is a cause of worry for the SP. The leader, who commanded the support of 64 per cent electorate in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, saw his victory margin shrink to over 94,000 votes in 2019, despite the party being in alliance with the BSP, which counts its support among Dalits.

Mainpuri has been electing a Samajwadi Party candidate since 1996. In 1998 and 1999, when Mulayam did not contest from there, the party’s candidate, Balram Singh Yadav, was elected. In the 2014 bypoll, when Mulayam vacated the seat, his grand-nephew, Tej Pratap, won with 64.46 per cent vote share.

The upcoming bypoll will be the first election for the Samajwadi Party after the demise of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. Also, the election has gained significance, since the SP has been on a losing streak – after failing to displace BJP in the Assembly elections in March this year, the party has lost all the bypolls; namely Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat, Rampur Lok Sabha seat, and Gola Gokarannath Assembly seat.

The defeat in the Azamgarh Lok Sabha bypoll was embarrassing for the party since the seat was held by Akhilesh, who had vacated it to continue as an MLA. Also, the SP had fielded a member of the party’s first family – Akhilesh’s cousin and former MP Dharmendra Yadav – in the Azamgarh bypoll.

Now, all eyes will be on Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal Yadav as the polling draws near in Mainpuri. The relationship between the uncle (Shivpal) and nephew (Akhilesh) has not been smooth for the past many years. After Akhilesh became SP national president ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls, Shivpal quit the party to form his own political outfit in a bid to claim his brother Mulayam’s legacy.

However, after failing to make a significant political gain, Shivpal and Akhilesh came together in the run-up to the Assembly elections earlier this year. But when the SP failed to gain power, the two fell apart again. There was speculation that Shivpal had become close to Akhilesh’s family after Mulayam’s death. However, it soon became evident that the two were not ready to bury the hatchet.

It will be very tricky for Shivpal to go against the family “bahu”. While he openly criticises Akhilesh, doing so for his brother’s daughter-in-law won’t be the same. “If he says a word against Dimple-ji, it would not look good on him. It is a family thing and he will show some regard for her,” said another SP leader.

Shivpal, who has a good influence in the region, has so far decided to “not show his cards”. “We will reveal our strategy soon. We will hold a meeting soon and decide what has to be done there,” said Er Arvind Yadav, a spokesperson of Shivpal’s party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party.

The SP is fighting the December 5 bypoll in three seats – Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, Rampur Sadar Assembly seat and Khatauli Assembly seat — in alliance with RLD.

Till now, only OP Rajbhar has announced its candidate for Mainpuri. While the BSP and the Congress are most likely to stay away from the bypoll, the BJP is likely to field a non-Yadav OBC from Mainpuri, making it a bipolar contest.
The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on December 8.