UP elections: Aparna Yadav faces SP protest while on campaign trail

Barabanki, Feb 3: Samajwadi Party workers protested against Aparna Yadav, the daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav, who recently joined the BJP, during campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections here on Thursday.

The incident occurred when she was on the way to address a meeting in Mauthari village under the Sadar assembly seat for a BJP candidate. A group of Samajwadi Party (SP) workers jeered at her and raised slogans praising party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Eyewitnesses and police said some SP workers came in front of her vehicle while staging a protest against her.

They said some BJP workers beat up an SP activist who was among those raising pro-Akhilesh Yadav slogans. Officer-in-charge of Santrikh police station Lal Chandra Saroj said one SP worker was held while others fled on seeing the police.

He added search was on for them Later, addressing the poll meeting, Aparna Yadav said like SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had blessed Narendra Modi that he once again becomes the prime minister, similarly, people are blessing Yogi Adityanath to return to power in Uttar Pradesh.

"The BJP is the party which revived the age-old rich culture and tradition of India," she claimed. She lauded the prime minister for providing free vaccines to citizens against COVID-19.

In the first of the seven phases, polling will be held in 58 assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts on February 10. The districts which are going to poll in the first phase are Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. The final-phase polling will be on March 7 and the results will be declared on March 10.