Shivpal was handed over an SP flag by party president Akhilesh Yadav after Dimple Yadav s win in Mainpuri by-poll on December 8, the fourth time in the last six years when uncle-nephew duo reunited after breaking up following a bitter power tussle.
Muslims in UP have long been supportive of Samajwadi Party. But the party's failure to lodge significant protest against a regime under which 'bulldozers are running over Muslim homes almost everyday' has left its voters unimpressed ahead of a crucial by-election.
Mainpuri by-election: The Mainpuri parliamentary constituency has five assembly segments- Mainpuri, Bhongaon, Kishni, Karhal and Jaswant Nagar. In the 2022 assembly elections, the SP won the Karhal, Kishni and the Jaswant Nagar seats, while the BJP won the Mainpuri and the Bhogaon seats.
The December 5 by-poll, necessitated by the death of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, will bring to the fore among other issues the ongoing family feud of the Yadavs, and whether or not the Muslim vote has moved away from SP.