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Is Aparna Yadav's Candidacy A Key Reason Behind The Yadav Family Feud?

Aparna will contest from the Lucknow Cantonment seat.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

A key point of contention in the ongoing Samajwadi Party (SP) family feud could be the candidature of Aparna Yadav, the wife of Prateek Yadav who is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's step-brother and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's son from his second wife, Sadhna Gupta.

Aparna Yadav was declared as the SP candidate from the Lucknow Cantonment seat and this could have played a role in triggering the battle between Mulayam and Akhilesh. Aparna's candidacy was declared last year in March by Shivpal Yadav.

NDTV reports that Akhilesh did not name anyone for the Lucknow Cantonment seat in his so-called rebel list of 235 SP candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Supporters of Akhilesh told NDTV that Aparna, who is seen as part of the Shivpal Yadav camp, had ambitions to replace Akhilesh as the "young face" of the party and that Sadhna Gupta may have instigated Mulayam against his older son.

Aparna has a degree in International Relations from the University of Manchester in United Kingdom, and reportedly wants to join politics as her husband has no interest in it.

Reportedly, her mother-in-law Sadhna had wanted Prateek to succeed Mulayam in politics but, as a source told the Telegraph, "When Prateek chose the real estate business over politics, she decided to pit daughter-in-law Aparna against Akhilesh."

The Times of India reports that while Aparna's "implied high profile" did not go down well with Akhilesh, his camp also felt that bringing another family into the SP power structure would take away the limelight from Akhilesh as Mulayam's successor.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.