The wife of the step-brother of Akhilesh Yadav will cross swords with 67-year-old Rita
Aparna Yadav, wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav's second son Prateek, was fielded by Samajwadi Party from Lucknow Cantt constituency, making it a high profile contest as she will take on BJP's Rita Bahuguna, who had won the seat in the last Assembly polls. 26-year-old Aparna, the latest entrant from the Yadav clan, figured in Samajwadi Party's fourth list of 37 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
The wife of the step-brother of SP president and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will cross swords with 67-year-old Rita, former state Congress chief who had won the seat in the 2012 Assembly polls.
Daughter of Congress stalwart and former state Chief Minister H.N. Bahuguna, Rita quit Congress in October last year to join BJP, after which she resigned as the legislator.
Aparna, a political greenhorn who has the backing of the ruling SP, has been nurturing the constituency under the banner of an NGO.
Although Aparna's candidature was announced much earlier, the internecine tussle in Samajwadi Party and emergence of Akhilesh Yadav as the new party president had made her ticket unsure till it was announced today.
BSP has fielded Yogesh Dixit making the fight triangular in the constituency which will go to polls in the third phase on February 19.
In the last polls, Rita, contesting on Congress ticket, had defeated BJP's Suresh Chandra Tewari by a margin of over 21,000 votes. She remained active in the constituency all along.
Aparna, whose husband is a businessman with big real estate interests, feels that since she is the joint candidate of SP-Congress coalition, it will give her added strength.
"People of the constituency know what work has been done there by their representative till now...they have seen how I have been working ever since I was given the responsibility of the seat by my party," Aparna said.
She said her contribution has also been lauded even by her adversaries.
"Ritaji herself wrote a letter of appreciation to me for raising voice in Nirbhaya case. Her tone changed when my party directed me to contest from here. I am sure to win as people have seen me working without being an MLA," Aparna said.
On the other hand, Rita said people understand the difference between personal contribution and what it meant to be just a member of a particular family.
"In fact, I want her to contest, people should realise being just member of the ruling family does not mean you have an electoral presence and you can succeed," she said.
"I have struck a personal relationship with the constituency and with the people of the area over these years and they know as to how I have been with them all through," she said, hoping that her personal rapport with the voters would see her through.
This time round, she has the additional advantage of BJP's organisational network which will help in pipping her opponent to the post. "Lucknow as a whole has been loyal to BJP all along, electing its nominee for last five terms. I think it should not be difficult for me to win," she stressed.
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 "Aparna Yadav and Rita Bahuguna Joshi")
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