Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that he will have to ask for “permission” from Azamgarh citizens if he were to fight the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
“I will contest from whichever seat the party allots and I will ask the people of Azamgarh,” the Azamgarh MP said at a press conference, amid two major developments regarding the UP polls, “My election should be before Yogi Adityanath. I want to contest before him.”
While the BJP and the Samajwadi Party lock horns in a do-or-die contest, Akhilesh’s sister-in-law Aparna Yadav on Wednesday joined the BJP, inviting criticism from the BJP that Akhilesh can’t even manage his family members. The same day, it was reported that Akhilesh – who has never been in the state assembly poll fray – is likely to fight it this time.
Aparna Yadav joined the BJP in New Delhi on Wednesday and said she has been influenced by PM Narendra Modi’s principle of Nation First.
Asked about Aparna Yadav’s move, Akhilesh toed a diplomatic line, underscored with a heavy dose of sarcasm: “First, I will congratulate her. Then I have good wishes for her. It is good that Samajwadi ideology is spreading to BJP as well. I hope our ideologies reach there and save the Constitution.”
