Mulayam’s ‘chhoti bahu’ Aparna likely to join BJP | India News – Times of India

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party’s patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav‘s younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday morning in Delhi. A core committee of the party comprising top leaders believed to have okayed the proposal of the state unit in this regard.
Sources said while Aparna is likely to join in Delhi there are chances that her husband’s maternal uncle and former SP MLA from Bidhuna Pramod Gupta might join in Lucknow.
Former IAS officer KS Atoria, former judge Bacchulal and former IRS and ex-PCS officer are also likely to join BJP in Lucknow on Wednesday.
Aparna, who contested 2017 elections from Lucknow Cantonment and lost, is likely get a chance from Bakshi Ka Talab constituency of the state capital as Cantonment is ‘crowded’, sources said. On Monday, when SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was asked about the Aparna’s plan to cross-over, he said that it was the party’s internal affair and BJP shouldn’t bother about it.
The high-level meeting featuring home minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Union minister and UP in charge Dharmendra Pradhan and the two deputy CMs finalized the second list of candidates primarily for the third and fourth phase of the assembly elections.
The meeting began at BJP headquarters late in the afternoon and continued for over four hours. Sources said that discussions were also held on leftover seats in west UP which would go to polls in the first two phases.
After deliberations on Monday night and Tuesday evening, the BJP has declared two candidates – Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar, a minister of state in the Yogi government, from Baheri, and Bahoranlal Maurya from Bhojipura.
Candidates on other seats will also be announced after BJP holds talks with its alliance partners. Candidates on six seats will be named after the seat-sharing formula is finalized with alliance partners.
Sources said the BJP was also planning to join hands with some new alliance partners like the Janata Dal (United), led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar though the party announced on Tuesday that it would go it alone in UP polls.
Sources said though discussions were at an initial stage, plans were also afoot to rope in another party from Pratapgarh region.
During the meeting for the third and fourth phase, discussions were held on probable candidates from Bundelkhand, Braj and Kanpur regions.
Sources told the TOI that deliberations on candidates from Awadh region, including the assembly seats in Lucknow district, were like- ly to take place on Wednesday. The issue of candidates from Lucknow took a curious turn after BJP’s Lok Sabha member Rita Bahuguna Joshi came out in the open to demand a ticket for her son Mayank Joshi. She was categorical in asking for a ticket even at the cost of her Lok Sabha membership.
She is pitching for her son from Lucknow Cantonment seat where the list of aspirants is getting longer by the day.
According to sources, if there is a decision to field ministers into direct election, Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma is being pushed from the same seat. Similarly, Dr Mahendra Singh, who had been a corporator from this Vidhan Sabha, could also be in the fray.
Sitting MLA Suresh Tiwari is already seeking a ticket from here and so is Lucknow Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia’s daughter-in-law Reshu Bhatia.
BJP leaders have not been able to zero in on any candidate from Lucknow. As of now, Om Prakash Srivastava, former Balrampur Hospital Director Dr Rajiv Lochan, BJYM vice-president Vikas Srivastava Baba, former MLA late Suresh Srivastava’s son Saurabh Srivastava, loyal BJP worker Anjani Srivastava, and Santosh Srivastava, who switched loyalty to join BJP from Congress, are among the probables.
Similarly, there are speculations on the names of candidates from Lucknow North and Bakshi-Ka-Talab seats too. After discussion on Awadh region, the party is likely to hold discussion on candidates from Purvanchal region.