Always ‘the other SP bahu’, Aparna Yadav’s wait for a role in BJP continues

Refuting reports that she was “unhappy”, Aparna did not miss the chance to hint at her status two years after moving from her in-laws’ SP to the BJP. She was like “Eklavya”, Aparna said, “without any work”, and now that she had a “direction”, would get going like “Arjun”. In the epic Mahabharata, Eklavya is an archer with skills to match the legendary Pandava, with Arjun also celebrated for his focus.

While adding that she had every right to raise her point of view, Aparna said there was no logic in talking about the issue now. And though she went on to thank the party leadership, it was with a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Parashuram”. In Hindu mythology, Parashuram is the god who killed many Kshatriya (Thakurs identify themselves as Kshatriyas) warriors.

As compared to her sister-in-law Dimple Yadav, the wife of Mulayam’s political heir and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is seen as the reluctant politician, Aparna is the “ambitious” one. With her husband and Mulayam’s younger son Prateek not interested in politics, Aparna first emerged on the horizon three years into her marriage, when she shared the dais with Mulayam at the SP’s National Executive in 2014.

When the UP Assembly elections came around three years later, the SP fielded Aparna from Lucknow Cantonment, a BJP bastion, against Congress-turned-BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Mulayam is believed to have stepped in to get her a ticket after Akhilesh, by then the incumbent Chief Minister and in control of the SP, showed reluctance. Akhilesh did not turn up to campaign for her, though Mulayam and Dimple pitched in.

However, those were the UP polls that the BJP swept, bringing Adityanath to power. Aparna lost by 33,796 votes.

Pushed gradually to the SP sidelines after that, particularly as an ailing Mulayam receded into the background, Aparna made a return to the headlines close to the 2022 Assembly elections when she kept putting up social media posts praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, or supporting the BJP’s anti-cow slaughter campaign, and when she dropped in at Gorakshanath Peeth in Gorakhpur, headed by Adityanath.

Just before the Assembly polls, Aparna finally took the plunge and joined the BJP. Given her association with the SP first family, it was a big psychological boost for the BJP.

However, two years later, Aparna’s future remains uncertain – the BJP did not give her a ticket in either the 2022 Assembly elections or the 2024 Lok Sabha polls; nor has she been given any significant responsibility in either the cadre or the government. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, there was talk that the BJP wanted Aparna to take on Dimple from Mainpuri. Sources said Aparna did not want a poll battle against her sister-in-law – she has expressed her respect for Dimple and Akhilesh many times publicly.

And then, while the Adityanath government named Aparna to the UP Women’s Commission, it was as vice-chairperson, with the chairmanship going to senior BJP leader Babita Chauhan.

Sources say Aparna has been placated with the promise of a “greater responsibility” soon.

Asked about her, BJP leaders are generous, crediting her for leadership qualities but saying everyone has to follow a “system” in the party. “Though she holds no posts, she is always ready to meet workers, especially women, and raise their issues. She is also very active in the Mahila Morcha. It is just that she is quite young and there is a system within the party. She will grow but in due course of time,” a woman BJP leader said.

A senior BJP leader refused to speculate, commenting cryptically that “Aparna’s stature within the party is beyond the reach of common workers”.

Senior SP leaders are less generous. While one said that the BJP was having second thoughts about Aparna’s “utility”, another said there was no question of the SP taking her back. “Their (Aparna and her husband’s) links with the party were till Netaji (Mulayam) was there. They left the party soon after we went out of power in 2017. There are no hard feelings, but no possibility of coming close again.”

Aparna herself may be wondering at the cruel hand of fate. Since the 2024 Lok Sabha results, it is the SP, and Akhilesh, who are on the upswing in UP, with the BJP fighting the impression that it is a struggling, fractious house.