'It will take him another 10 lives': UP DyCM Keshav Prasad Maurya MOCKS Akhilesh Yadav on Mainpuri bypolls

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has taken a dig at the former chief minister and Samajwadi Party president  Akhilesh Yadav, saying that it will take him "another 10 lives" to be like his late "father" and party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. While talking to ANI, the BJP leader said "Akhilesh Yadav needs another 10 lives to become like his father Mulayam Singh Yadav." Maurya also accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief of "pushing" his father to grab the seat of party chief.

"We always have respect for the Former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. But, Akhilesh Yadav, who himself pushed his father to grab the seat of party chief is calling the election ‘Netaji ka Chunav.’

Maurya said that Akhilesh should keep in mind that if Netaji would have been alive, there would have been no need for an election. He also alleged that during the SP rule, party workers were murdered and booths were captured during the elections.

"This election is to recall the mismanagement under the SP government. A party worker was killed in Kanuaj, booths were captured in Mainpuri. People are scared of pressing the `cycle` button, whereas, the `lotus` symbol represents development and protection," he added.

Meanwhile, the SP chief's wife and Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav on Sunday claimed that the BJP-led administration will crack down on local party leaders ahead of the Mainpuri by-election and asked them to "not sleep at their homes" the night before polling.

She said the Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri constituency has been the area of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's who had worked for its development and asserted that the party is going to the people with this reality in the upcoming bypoll here.

Dimple, the wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, has been fielded from the seat, which has been represented by party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. Polling in Mainpuri will be held on December 5, while the counting of votes will take place on December 8.

"I would like to tell my young friends and SP leaders that the administration will act tough on you on December 4. Do not sleep in your homes on December 4, so that on December 5, nobody can even touch you.

Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat is a prestigious seat for the Yadav family and is a Samajwadi Party bastion. There was earlier speculation that Shivpal Singh Yadav may contest. But Samajwadi Party declared Dimple Yadav as its candidate. According to family sources, Shivpal Singh Yadav also supported Dimple Yadav`s candidature after which the Samajwadi Party went a step further and included his name in its list of star campaigners. 

(With ANI Inputs)