Mulayam Singh Yadav, 82, died on October 10; he represented Mainpuri in parliament
The 'lotus' will bloom in Mainpuri now, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not campaign there in the previous two general elections out of respect for Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Monday.
"We all respect 'netaji' (Mulayam). The Prime Minister himself told me that he did not campaign in Mainpuri in 2014 and 2019 for this reason," Maurya told reporters in Etawah.
"This time lotus will bloom in Mainpuri also," he said.
Yadav, 82, who died on October 10, represented Mainpuri in the Parliament.
He had won from Mainpuri and Azamgarh seats in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but had left Mainpuri. He won the seat again in the 2019 polls.
BJP had fielded Prem Singh Shakya in 2014 and 2019 by-election, and Shatrughan Singh Chauhan in 2014 general elections, against the veteran SP leader.
The seat is in the news after the demise of Yadav.
The entire Yadav clan is busy in post-death rituals and politics has for now been put on a backburner by the family.
All the same, there is a talk in the political circle that somebody from the Yadav family would contest from the constituency.
Shivpal Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav, and his cousin Dharmendra Yadav are being spoken of as probable contenders from the seat.
Shivpal Yadav, who joined hands with Akhilesh, his nephew, during state polls, had had a fall out with him after the election.
Even before Mulayam's death, when his health was not good, Shivpal, the PSPL president, had said that he would contest from Mainpuri in case his elder brother chooses to not contest from there.
As his proximity with the BJP grew, it was speculated that he could fight from Mainpuri with the help of the saffron party.
But Mulayam's death, and the grief that gripped the family in his wake, has apparently brought uncle-nephew close, indicating a thaw in the frosty relationship between them.
Yet, a final decision is still to be taken in this regard by the SP leadership.
The BJP, which has already started preparation for the 2024 general election, has said on numerous occasions that they would win all 80 LS seats, including SP bastion Mainpuri and Rae Bareily represented by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.