Mulayam tried to convince Aparna Yadav not to join BJP: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav tried hard to dissuade his daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav from joining the BJP, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Wednesday and expressed happiness that the SP's socialist ideology is expanding.

Akhilesh Yadav also said he would take a decision on contesting the assembly elections after consulting the people of Azamgarh who had sent him to the Lok Sabha.

"First of all I would like to congratulate and extend best wishes. I am also happy that our socialist ideology is expanding. I hope that our ideology will reach there and work to save the constitution and democracy," the SP president told reporters in his first response on Aparna Yadav joining the BJP.

"Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) tried very hard to convince her," he said when asked if efforts were made to stop Aparna Yadav from joining the ruling party.

Aparna Yadav is married to Prateek Yadav, the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav's second wife, while Akhilesh Yadav is his son from the first marriage.

She joined the BJP in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and its state chief Swatantra Dev Singh. Expressing her admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said the nation's interest has always been a priority for her and praised several schemes of the BJP government for cleanliness, woman empowerment and employment.