The Samajwadi Party on Monday changed their candidate for Budaun, one of the most politically sensitive Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, for the second time in 60 days. It named senior leader Shivpal Yadav’s son Aditya Yadav, while the BJP targeted the Akhilesh Yadav-led party for indulging in ‘pariwarvaad’ and contesting the polls only for the sake of family.
Shivpal Yadav, however, said his son’s name was proposed by the local party unit and he, too, thinks that youngsters should get a chance. This is the second time in the last 60 days that the SP has changed its candidate for Budaun. Initially, the party nominated former MP Dharmendra Yadav but, later, Akhilesh Yadav replaced him and declared his uncle and Jaswant Nagar MLA Shivpal Yadav from the seat. He announced that Dharmendra will contest from Azamgarh constituency.
On April 2, at a workers’ conference, in the presence of Shivpal and Dharmendra, the local party unit passed a proposal in favour of Aditya as the Budaun candidate. “The workers’ conference here (in Budaun) today passed the proposal (for Aditya as the candidate). The proposal will now go to the national leadership… which is likely to give its nod,” Shivpal said after the conference.
Ahead of the conference, Shivpal had already conveyed to Akhilesh that he would prefer his son to contest from the seat that would also work as a launchpad for him. Some SP insiders said the party’s original plan was to name Aditya for the Jaswant Nagar assembly bypoll if Shivpal won the Budaun Lok Sabha seat. But, Shivpal intends to stay on as Jaswant Nagar MLA, a seat he has won seven times in a row since 1996.
Budaun will go to polls in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 7. The nomination process began on April 12 and will end on April 19.
Why was Aditya Yadav’s name proposed?
In a meeting, Shivpal told the media that Akhilesh contested elections for the first time when he was 26, whereas Dharmendra contested for the first time at the age of 28; he, too, thinks that youngsters should get a chance and, hence, he proposed his son’s name.
While strongly reacting to the ‘pariwarvaad’ allegations, the senior SP leader said: “Pariwar ki kamai pariwar mein hi batti hai…” The father-son duo is leaving no stone unturned in wooing the voters. For the past couple of days, the two were seen holding village chaupals in the rural areas of Budaun district.
Who is Aditya Yadav?
At 35, Aditya Yadav is the newest entrant in electoral politics from the Yadav clan. Other family members contesting the election include Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri, Dharmendra from Azamgarh and Akshay Yadav from Firozabad. The SP is yet to name a candidate for the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, with considerations revolving around Akhilesh and former MP Tej Pratap Yadav.
Aditya, who is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger brother Shivpal, holds positions on the board of directors at the Indian Farm Forestry Cooperative Limited (IFFDC) and the Global Board of the International Cooperative Alliance, showcasing his involvement in cooperative and agricultural sectors.
What is the BJP saying?
The BJP slammed Akhilesh and called the act an example of ‘pariwarvaad’. “The SP has once again proved that it is contesting Lok Sabha polls just for the sake of ‘pariwar’. And Shivpal or Aditya’s nomination from Budaun seat is yet another example,” said party spokesperson Anand Dubey.
He said the BJP is the only party contesting the polls with an aim to win and serve the country, but the SP is contesting for the sake of family while the Congress is fighting to register its presence. And the BSP is in the electoral battle to convey a message that it still exists.
Budaun Lok Sabha constituency
The BJP has nominated Durvijay Singh Shakya from the Budaun constituency. The SP has fielded Aditya Yadav as its candidate.
Budaun Lok Sabha constituency comprises five assembly segments within the district. In the 2019 elections, Dr Sanghmitra Maurya of the BJP emerged victorious with 5,11,352 votes, defeating Dharmendra by a margin of 18,384 votes. In the 2014 elections, however, Dharmendra secured the seat with 4,98,378 votes, surpassing the BJP’s Vagish Pathak by a substantial margin of 1,66,201 votes.
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