All Yadav hands on deck: Shivpal’s son SP first family’s new poll debutant as party ups UP game

The Samajwadi Party (SP)’s decision to change its candidate for the important Budaun Lok Sabha seat has taken many by surprise. The SP had earlier fielded party chief and former Badaun MP Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav. It shifted Dharmendra to Azamgarh, and gave the seat to Akhilesh’s uncle and ex-minister Shivpal Yadav a few days ago, before finally announcing Sunday that it will field Shivpal’s son Aditya Yadav to contest the seat.

Badaun is a crucial seat in Western UP, which is dominated by Yadavs and Muslims — the SP’s core vote bank. Its population comprises around 40% Yadavs, 20% Muslims, 20% non-Yadav OBCs and around 20% upper castes and Dalits combined.

Badaun will go to polls in the third phase on May 7. The nomination process began on April 12 and will end on April 19. The BJP has fielded first-timer Durvijay Singh Shakya, who is the party’s Braj unit chief.

The SP leadership says the decision to field Aditya, 35, for his election debut was taken by Shivpal, to mark his son’s entry into active politics. “Which father doesn’t want to help his son establish himself in his profession? A doctor would want his son to be a doctor, an engineer would want his son to be an engineer. The same is for politicians. If Shivpal ji has convinced the party leadership to replace him with his son, then what is wrong with it?” asked a senior SP leader.

Multiple members of the Yadav clan are in the fray in the Lok Sabha polls. Dharmendra is contesting from Azamgarh. Akhilesh’s wife and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is contesting from Mainpuri, while senior SP leader and Akhilesh’s uncle Ramgopal Yadav’s son Akshay is the party’s candidate from Firozabad. So far, there is no clarity whether Akhilesh will himself contest the polls,