Lucknow: In the middle of the high-stakes Uttar Pradesh election campaign, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has announced that he will not attend today's rally in western UP and will stay away from public events for three days, a day after his wife and daughter tested positive for Covid.
Mr Yadav shared his Covid-negative report earlier today on Twitter and said he has taken the decision as a precautionary move since his family members have been infected.
The Samajwadi Party president was to address a joint rally with Rashtriya Lok Dal at Iglas in western Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh today. In his tweet, he wished Samajwadi Party workers best for the rally and appealed to them to take part in the gathering with full vigour.
The move came a day after Mr Yadav's wife and former MP Dimple Yadav tweeted that she has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently in isolation.
"I got a Covid test done, whose report is positive. I am fully vaccinated and not showing any symptoms. For the safety of myself and others, I have isolated myself," Ms Yadav tweeted in Hindi.
"All the people who have met me recently are requested to get their test done soon," she said.
It later emerged that the couple's daughter had also tested positive for the infection.
Soon after, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke to Mr Yadav and wished Ms Yadav and their daughter a speedy recovery.
Akhilesh Yadav, who is being seen as the ruling BJP's main challenger in the upcoming polls, has been campaigning across Uttar Pradesh.
It is not known whether Akhilesh Yadav has got himself vaccinated. He had said he would get vaccinated after his father Mulayam Singh Yadav decided to get the jab.
In an interview with NDTV last month, Akhilesh Yadav had said he would take the COVID-19 jab only if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photograph is removed from vaccination certificates.
"I've had Covid, studies say I won't get it again, even those vaccinated are getting Covid again... If the government puts national flag on vaccine certificate, I will take it," he told NDTV.
In January this year, Akhilesh Yadav had said he won't get himself injected with a "BJP vaccine", a comment that drew sharp criticism from leaders of the ruling party. The Samajwadi Party chief had then tried to make amends on Twitter the same day, saying he was not referring to scientists.
"I have never raised any questions on any scientist developing the vaccine or any person helping in making the vaccine. I only raised questions on the BJP as people do not have faith in the party because of the decisions taken by it," Akhilesh Yadav had said.