Dimple Yadav files nomination from Mainpuri, Akhilesh says victory margin will increase

Former MP from Mainpuri Tej Pratap and SP district president Alok Sakya were also accompanying them

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav Monday filed her nomination papers from the party's bastion of Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency where a bypoll will be held on December 5.

Accompanied by Akhilesh and other members of SP, including party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, Dimple visited the 'samadhi sthal' (tomb) of SP patron and her father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav and placed a wreath there before reaching the Collectorate for filing the nomination papers.

Former SP leader and Mulayam's younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav was not present, indicating that he was not on the same page with his estranged nephew Akhilesh on the decision to field Dimple Yadav from the seat.

Also Read | Dimple no match to Mulayam, BJP will win Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll: UP minister

Akhilesh, while speaking to reporters later, exuded confidence that Dimple would win by a ''record margin''. ''The people of Mainpuri had always supported Netaji (Mulayam). Even though he is not with us now, he is very much in the hearts of the electorate here,'' he added. The bypoll in the constituency was necessitated by the death of Mulayam, who had won the seat in the 2019 general elections, a few days ago.

The BJP is yet to announce its candidate for the bypoll, but sources in the saffron party said that a section of the local leadership of the party had favoured the candidature of Aparna Yadav, the wife of Prateek Yadav, Mulayam's son from his second wife. ''Aparna is also a member of Mulayam's political clan. The electorate of Mainpuri will ultimately choose someone from Mulayam's family whether it is Dimple or Aparna,'' a BJP leader here said.

SP leaders also here admitted that the contest in Mainpuri could be 'tough' if Aparna was fielded from the seat. Of the five assembly constituencies in the Mainpuri LS seat, SP had three and the BJP had two seats.

The Mainpuri contest was a prestige battle for Akhilesh, especially after his party lost the Azamgarh LS seat vacated by himself to the BJP recently. A defeat in Mainpuri might prove to be a huge setback for Akhilesh and his leadership might be challenged by the likes of Shivpal Singh Yadav, his estranged uncle, and others.