‘Sought blessings from Pitaji’: Aparna Yadav's photo after joining BJP

Aparna Yadav met her father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav after returning to Lucknow from Delhi. (Image tweeted by @aparnabisht7)

Aparna Yadav, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s new member in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday tweeted a photo of her taking blessings from her father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of Samajwadi Party.

The 32-year-old had joined the BJP on January 19, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Her brother-in-law, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, is a key opponent for the BJP in the crucial polls which are scheduled to begin from February 10.

Aparna Yadav was inducted into the BJP in Delhi. She came back to Lucknow on January 21 and was greeted by a crowd of supporters.

@BJP4India की सदस्यता ग्रहण करके दिल्ली से लखनऊ अमौसी एयरपोर्ट पहुँचने पर समर्थकों और कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा भव्य स्वागत किया गया, मैं आप सब का धन्यावाद ज्ञापित करतीं हूँ कि इतनी बड़ी संख्या में पधार कर आप सब ने मेरा सम्मान बढ़ाया और उत्साहवर्धन किया I pic.twitter.com/d3T3Cw7cTZ

— Aparna Bisht Yadav (@aparnabisht7) January 21, 2022

After her arrival, the BJP’s new member went to meet her father-in-law. She shared a photo of the Samajwadi Party patron blessing him.

Akhilesh Yadav has said that his father tried very hard to convince Aparna Yadav not to join the BJP.

Aparna Yadav is married to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek Yadav.

In 2017, she had contested the Uttar Pradesh elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow Cantt but lost to BJP's Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

Aparna Yadav has reportedly asked to be fielded from Lucknow Cantt again in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections. But Bahuguna wants the seat for her son Mayank Joshi.

The 32-year-old is has also been working for animal welfare and women’s safety. She runs an NGO called B Aware’.

The polls in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7. The results will be out on March 10. Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur are also going to polls in February.