SP yet to take a call on Badaun but Shivpal ‘declares’ son the candidate

For the Samajwadi Party (SP), the election season so far has been full of curveballs. While the party has settled the confusion over its candidate in Moradabad, the situation is far from being clear in Badaun. Though Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Yadav is officially in the fray from the constituency, he has declared his son Aditya as the candidate.

“I have come to make an appeal. The election is going to take place on May 7 here, which is very significant. In this election, do you know who has been made the candidate now?” Shivpal asked while campaigning on Sunday as the crowd responded, “Aditya Yadav.” The veteran leader then said the nomination papers would be filed during Navaratri, which begins on April 9.

Last week, an SP workers’ conference held in Sambhal proposed that Aditya be the candidate from Badaun. Shivpal, whose relations with Akhilesh Yadav are far from smooth, then said the proposal would be sent to the national leadership. Meanwhile, as they await the decision, both Shivpal and Aditya are campaigning for each other in the constituency.

Badaun used to be an SP stronghold but fell to the BJP in 2019. First won by the party in 1996, Aditya and Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav entered Parliament from the seat in 2009. He was 30 years old at the time. Dharmendra retained the constituency five years later amid the pro-Narendra Modi wave across India but lost to Samghmitra Maurya in 2019. This time, too, Dharmendra was declared the candidate from Badaun but was subsequently replaced by Shivpal and moved to Azamgarh, Akhilesh’s former seat that he had failed to win in a bypoll in 2022.

Some SP insiders suggested with Aditya as the candidate it would be easier for Dharmendra to mobilise his supporters. Last week,