UP panchayat polls: SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav misses voting due to COVID-19

Etawah: Samajwadi Party patriarch and founder Mulayam Singh Yadav did not cast his vote in panchayat elections in his native Saifai village on Monday following a request from family members in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to family sources, the 81-year-old so far has never missed voting in any election.

"We requested Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) not to come to Saifai to cast his vote this time for the panchayat elections in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and luckily, he agreed to our request. Currently, Netaji is in Delhi," Dharmendra Yadav, nephew of Mulayam Singh Yadav, told PTI.

Voting for the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls is underway on Monday with more than 3.48 lakh candidates in the fray for over 2.23 lakh posts in 20 districts.

Polling will be held till 6 pm and over 3.23 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.