Mainpuri bypoll: Shivpal Yadav disowns BJP's candidate Raghuraj Shakya

Etawah (UP): In an apparent reference to the BJP's Mainpuri bypoll candidate Raghuraj Shakya, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav Monday said the ruling party's nominee is not his disciple or 'chela'.

Shakya, who has been pitted against Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll necessitated by the death of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, had last week said Shivpal Singh Yadav is his "political guru" and he will seek his blessings.

He was once a close associate of Shivpal Yadav but quit his PSPL to join the BJP earlier this year. Shakya was earlier a Samajwadi Party (SP) MP and had sided with Shivpal Yadav after he formed his own party.

Canvassing for Dimple Yadav at a rally in Jaswant Nagar, Shivpal Yadav said a person is "roaming among you and seeking vote... He is saying that he is my 'shishya'".

"Leave being disciple, he is not even my 'chela'. Had he been so, he would not have left clandestinely. He is an ambitious, selfish and opportunist person," Shivpal Yadav said without naming Shakya.

It is said in Uttar Pradesh's political circles that the BJP has fielded Shakya in the hope to cash in on Shivpal Yadav's "differences" with his nephew Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. But the 'chacha-bhatija' seemingly patching up, has poured cold water on the BJP's apparent plan.

At the rally attended by Akhilesh Yadav and party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, Shivpal Yadav appealed to the people of his constituency, which he won on an SP ticket, to ensure Dimple Yadav's victory breaking all previous records.

"A true tribute to 'Netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) will be a record victory for Dimple Yadav," the PSPL leader said. He said the unfulfilled dreams of Mulayam Singh Yadav will be fulfilled by him and Dimple Yadav with the support of Akhilesh Yadav.

The bypoll is scheduled on December 5 and the result will be declared on December 8.