Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to a cow shelter has created a flutter in Lucknow’s political circles.

Adityanath, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma and ministers Suresh Khanna and Swati Singh, visited the 54-acre “Kanha Upvan” cow shelter on Friday, March 31.

His hosts happened to be former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s step brother Prateek Yadav and the latter’s wife wife Aparna Yadav.

The Lucknow Municipal Corporation provides financial aid to the shelter, which was established in 2010 and is run by Jeevashraya, a non-governmental organisation.

Aparna and Prateek Yadav are patrons of the NGO. This was the second meeting in a span of eight days between Adityanath and the Yadav duo.

The first meeting on March 24 was described as a courtesy call when the two had gone over to the VVIP guest house where Adityanath was then staying, apparently to invite him to visit the cow shelter.

Significantly, Aparna Yadav, who fought the recent Assembly election on a Samajwadi Party ticket, lostthe Lucknow Cantonment seat to Adityanath’s Bharatiya Janata Party colleague Rita Bahugana Joshi.

These two meetings have fuelled speculation about Aparna Yadav’s possible switch over to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Aparna Yadav, however, denied any such developments. “He is everyone’s chief minister and we invited him. Yogi Adityanath too runs cow shelters in his Gorakhpur, so we requested him to visit ours and give us some tips on how to improve it,” she said.

“There is no political issue in the visit,” she insisted. Adityanath had only visited for gau sewa and offered fodder to cows, she said. “The chief minister also praised the efforts of Jeev Ashray for gau sewa. He has also given some important suggestions which will be implemented,” she added.

But she also clearly wanted to publicise the visit, as she circulated photographs of Adityanath with Prateek and herself.

Old associations

The photo-opportunity with Adityanath was not a first for Aparna Yadav, who is seen as politically ambitious.

In February 2015, her selfie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s visit to Saifai for attending a function related to the wedding ceremony of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s grand nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav had attracted a bit of noise on social media.

Earlier, in 2014, during Lok Sabha elections, a group of Samajwadi Party workers had protested at the party office, demanding a ticket for Prateek Yadav from Azamgarh. In September 2014, Aparna Yadav had visited Gorakhpur to call on Adityanath, on the death of Mahant Avaidyanath, his predecessor at the Gorakhnath Temple.

Aparna Yadav also courted controversy when she praised Modi’s Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and even attended Modi’s visit to Dr BR Ambedkar University convocation in Lucknow. She was the only person from Yadav family to attend the function in January.

‘Calculated move’

Aparna Yadav’s moves are being seen as an attempt on her part to carve out an independent role for herself in Uttar Pradesh politics.

In the Samajwadi Party stronghold of Etawah-Mainpuri, people are more inclined towards Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav and there is no following, mainly among Yadavs, for Prateek and Aparna Yadav.

On March 7, a day before last phase of polling, Prateek Yadav’s mother, Sadhna Yadav, had opened a new front stating that she would “not tolerate things lying down” and wanted “her son to be in active politics”. But it is the son’s wife who is more interested in politics.

“It is a calculated move,” a senior Samajwadi Party functionary said, when asked to explain her recent moves to have an equation with the BJP. “Now Samajwadi Party is going through a rough patch, Aparna has lost the election. Going by the numbers, she or Prateek cannot be nominated for Rajya Sabha due to stiff opposition from the party cadre. It is hard for her to win the election as a Samajwadi candidate,” he added.

Samajwadi Party is a weaker force with the exodus of backward class voters. It is facing a political tussle within and there are two distinct camps led by Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav. The workers are in disarray, leaders are uncertain about their commitment and the party appears to be caught in a dilemma on the question of succession of power to Akhilesh Yadav. In comparison, the BJP appears to be on a much stronger wicket – it is rejuvenated and is in power both in Lucknow and Delhi. More importantly, it is a safer bet for winning polls, or even obtaining a position of power.

Aparna Yadav’s recent overtures have to be seen in this context. None of the Samajwadi leaders have come forward to defend or oppose her.

Whatever be the future, but currently the chhoti bahu, the younger daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav is more in news than the men of the family. Armed with a master’s degree from Manchester University, as well as a degree in singing from Lucknow’s Bhatkhande Music Institute, Aparna Yadav is giving sleepless nights to Samajwadi Party leaders who are already facing a question of survival after a crushing defeat in Assembly polls.