UP Election: Aparna Yadav is married to Pratik, Mulayam Singh Yadav's son and Akhilesh Yadav's brother
Akhilesh Yadav "is unsuccessful as a Chief Minister, as an MP and in his own family", BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya said today as the Samajwadi Party chief's relative Aparna Yadav switched to the BJP.
Keshav Maurya, the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, also mocked the former Chief Minister saying he liked to claim credit for development projects in the state but did not have the courage to contest the election.
"He (Akhilesh) used to claim that his government had started several developmental works. But now he does not have the courage to fight elections from any of these constituencies. I am surprised," Mr Maurya said.
Aparna Yadav is married to Pratik Yadav, the brother of Akhilesh Yadav and the younger son of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
"The former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is not successful in his own family. He has also been unsuccessful in being the Chief Minister of the state. He is unsuccessful as a member of parliament too," Mr Maurya said.
Continuing his broadside on social media, Mr Maurya posted: "Akhilesh Yadav is afraid of contesting the assembly elections. He has taken so much time to find a safe place. He is afraid to fight on the land of development. Akhilesh ji, first tell where was the most development done from 2012 to 2017? You cannot compete with the BJP's development work."
Sources say Akhilesh Yadav is planning to contest the UP election for the first time. Pressure on him to make his state election debut intensified has after Yogi Adityanath made the first move. The BJP has fielded Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Sadar.
Akhilesh Yadav's seat has not been decided yet, sources say.
For the Samajwadi Party chief, the crossover by a member of the family is a setback just weeks before the UP election. Last week, a series of big exits from the BJP translated into big gains for the Samajwadi party.
Aparna Yadav told reporters that she had always been inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I now want to try and do better for the country. I have always been very impressed by the schemes of the BJP and I will do my best in the party," she told reporters.
UP will vote in seven rounds from February. The results will be announced on March 10.