Mulayam Yadav's brother-in-law Pramod Gupta 3rd from family to switch to BJP

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, January 20

The BJP on Thursday flaunted another prized catch from the clan of Mulayam Singh Yadav with SP patron’s brother-in-law Pramod Gupta joining saffron ranks.

Gupta became the third member of the Mulayam clan to switch sides in a week, the first being three-time SP MLA Hari Om Yadav and the second Mulayam Singh’s daughter-in-law.

A former SP legislator from the Bidhuna segment in Auraiya, Gupta was about to be denied an SP nomination by party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who continued to dismiss family members’ defections as mere specks on SP’s huge walls.

Brother of Mulayam Singh’s second wife Sadhna Gupta, Pramod Gupta, meanwhile, said today that Mulayam Singh had been held hostage at the family home in Lucknow and was not being allowed to see anyone.

“Mulayam and Shivpal ji have been harassed in the SP and party workers are anguished. People who made unsavoury references against Mulayam Singh are being promoted,” said Gupta as the BJP continued its attempts to dent Yadav clan’s unity in the public eye.

Laxmikant Bajpai, head of BJP’s UP committee that oversees new joining in the state, said today, “The fact is the SP is unable to keep its flock together.” Importantly, the BJP is conscious of history while poaching Mulayam Singh’s family members.

Akhilesh likely to contest from Karhal

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest the UP elections from the Karhal assembly segment in Mainpuri parliamentary constituency, party sources indicated on Thursday. Karhal has been an SP bastion since 1993, with a brief saffron spell between 2002 and 2007.

Cong’s ‘ladki hoon’ poster girl joins BJP

Vice-President of UP Mahila Congress and the poster girl of AICC general secretary (UP) Priyanka Vadra’s “Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon” campaign Priyanka Maurya also joined the BJP on Thursday after being denied a ticket in her party. She is a homeopath.

First Assembly poll for SP chief

If Akhilesh contests, this will be his first election fight in UP. In 2012 when he became CM, Akhilesh got elected to the legislative council and not the Assembly, just like his predecessor and BSP chief Mayawati. Akhilesh is the sitting LS MP from Azamgarh.