Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday hit out at the Samajwadi Party over Shivpal Yadav’s reunion with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, saying the Yadav family knows best how long the unity would last. The BJP leader claimed that people have made up their minds to end dynastic politics.

Batting for BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya, Maurya said people have sympathy for Mulayam Singh Yadav but they would not vote for the Samajwadi Party in the bypoll. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Dimple Yadav, the wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, for the December 5 Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated following the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

To a question whether he felt that the Yadav family would remain united after the elections, Maurya said, “It is their matter. But, it’s clear that the people of Mainpuri have made up their minds to set aside dynastic politics.”

The uncle-nephew relations had gone sour in 2016 with the sacking of Shivpal, who was then a cabinet minister, by Akhilesh Yadav when he was the CM. They parted ways in 2017 when Akhilesh became the SP president. Shivpal formed Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) in 2018.

The duo joined hands before the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. However, the relations went sour again as Shivpal alleged that he was neglected within the party.

Since Shivpal parted ways with the SP, there were rumours that he might be joining the BJP. Though he denied it every time, the allotment of a bungalow for his party by the BJP government fuelled speculations.

After Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, considered close to the Shivpal Singh Yadav camp, joined BJP, speculations went rife about his closeness to the ruling party. Even after the Mainpuri bypoll was declared, some reports suggested that it was Shivpal who ensured a BJP ticket for his one-time close associate Raghuraj Singh Shakya.

The reunion process began after Shivpal’s name was declared by the SP as one of the star campaigners in Mainpuri and the latter asked his party workers to ensure a victory for Dimple Yadav.

It was followed by a meeting of Shivpal with both Akhilesh and Dimple. “There is a feeling of sympathy towards ‘Netaji’ (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and people have paid glowing tributes to him after his demise. However, they are not ready to vote for Akhilesh Yadav’s party or its candidate,” Maurya said in Mainpuri.

Maurya exuded confidence in BJP’s victory in the bypoll with a big margin.

The Mainpuri parliamentary constituency has five assembly segments — Mainpuri, Bhogaon, Kishni, Karhal and Jaswant Nagar. In the 2022 assembly elections, the SP won the Karhal, Kishni and Jaswant Nagar seats while the BJP won Mainpuri and Bhogaon seats.

Akhilesh’s Karhal assembly seat is part of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency and so is Jaswant Nagar, which is represented by Shivpal Yadav.