‘Ghar ki bitiya’: How Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav’s daughter, Aditi, is grabbing limelight during Lok Sabha polls

The Yadav family of the Samajwadi Party (SP) has a new campaigner for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Akhilesh Yadav’s daughter, Aditi, has hit the grounds to seek votes for mother Dimple Yadav and other candidates.

Dimple Yadav, the sitting member of Parliament (MP) from Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri, is again in the fray from the seat, a bastion of her late father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Aditi, 21, is the third generation of the late SP’s patriarch’s family stepping into the political arena. The comparisons to her grandfather are not far behind.

Let’s take a look at how Aditi Yadav has grabbed attention during the general elections.

Who is Aditi Yadav?

The daughter of Dimple and Akhilesh Yadav did her schooling at Lucknow’s La Martiniere College, scoring 98 per cent marks in her Class 12 exams in 2020, as per ThePrint report.

Currently, she is pursuing Politics and International Relations at University College London (UCL).

Aditi is fond of badminton and horse riding, people close to her told ThePrint.

Aditi Yadav campaigns for mother

Aditi, who is being referred to as ‘ghar ki bitiya’ in Mainpuri, was first spotted on the campaign trail with her mother on 20 March, as per ThePrint.

She has been addressing small gatherings or nukkad sabhas for nearly a month in the SP’s safe seat of Mainpuri, which was won by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1996, 2009, 2014 and 2019.

The seat fell vacant after the death of the SP patriarch in 2022, necessitating a bypoll. Dimple won the byelection, defeating Raghuraj Singh Shakya of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 2,88,461 votes.

Dimple Yadav is seeking re-election from Mainpuri, where she will face BJP’s Jaiveer Singh Thakur and Shiv Prasad Yadav of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Mainpuri is voting on 7 May during the third phase of Lok Sabha polls.

This time, Dimple’s eldest daughter is braving the hot weather in Uttar Pradesh, connecting with the locals, to help her retain the family bastion.

Aditi Yadav, who is on a summer vacation, is now going door-to-door to persuade people to vote for her mother.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav's daughter Aditi campaigns for the party in the villages of Mainpuri. pic.twitter.com/QuGrOU0l0t

As per ThePrint report, she leaves for election campaigning at noon from her Saifai residence and returns by dusk.

She greets elders with folded hands and waves at youth and children. Aditi is welcomed with garlands and bouquets, and sometimes a ‘pagdi’ (turban) is on her head, reported Times of India (TOI).

In the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency which covers five assembly segments, Aditi’s election campaign focused on SP’s strongolds of Karhal and Kishni, as per ThePrint report.

She is holding nukkad sabhas and giving speeches to develop an emotional link with her audience, the report added.

During her address at Kishni on 30 April, Aditi had reportedly said, “Mainpuri is my home and you all are my family. Wherever I am going, I am getting love like a daughter. Thank you people for this belongingness.”

In her speeches, she also touches on political issues, promising that the SP government would empower women, create job opportunities for the youth, and provide “good education” to children.

Aditi’s approach has garnered a good response among the locals.

“Mainpuri is Netaji’s own seat and to us, Aditi is ‘ghar ki bitiya’ (own daughter), people will certainly vote for Dimple Yadav and will make her win with a record margin of four lakh votes,” a local told News18.

Aditi’s engagement with the locals in Mainpuri, a predominantly rural constituency, has also inspired SP’s youth workers.

Speaking to ThePrint, Piyush Yadav, a party youth worker, said, “She is campaigning continuously for six-seven hours in this scorching heat. There is clarity in her voice and thought. Nothing would have changed had she not come, but the public likes her. She does not need recognition, but now, she is also making a name for herself.”

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Comparisons to Netaji

Aditi and her grassroots approach are reminding people of her grandfather Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was affectionately known as Netaji.

“This is the first time people saw Aditi, who resembles her father, Akhilesh, from such close quarters. The way Aditi meets people, listens to them, embraces them, and interacts with them, reminds us of Dharti Putra Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav), who was known for his simplicity and down-to-earth approach,” Badrinath Yadav, a resident of Mainpuri’s Fatehganj town, told News18.

Supporters are using phrases like “phool si beti (flower-like daughter)” and “Netaji ki poti” for her, reported ThePrint.

Besides Mainpuri, Aditi was also seen canvassing in Etawah last week for the SP candidate Jitendra Dohare. Etawah will go to polls on 13 May during the fourth phase of voting.

#WATCH | Etawah, Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav's daughter Aditi campaigns for the party in the Saifai area. #LokSabhaElections pic.twitter.com/b13VF6oMu0

Will Aditi Yadav take the political plunge?

Aditi’s surprise entry into the campaign trail has raised questions about her plans. However, the SP is keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to speculations about Netaji’s granddaughter taking a political plunge.

“Aditi is not only campaigning for me but in a way also exploring her roots. She is meeting people, visiting their houses, and spending time with them,” Dimple Yadav said in a statement, as per News18.

On her daughter’s plans, Dimple said she is free to make her own decision. “I have always supported my children and it’s totally up to her if she wants to build her career in politics or something else,” she added.

BJP’s charge of parivarwaad

The BJP is trying to corner the Akhilesh Yadav-led party with its parivarwaad (dynastic) jibes. Aditi’s canvassing has also not gone unnoticed.

Nidhi Yadav, a trusted aide of Akhilesh Yadav, said at a gathering that the BJP was sending senior party leaders to campaign in Mainpuri due to their “apprehension” of Dimple’s daughter, ThePrint reported.

Bigwigs like Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath have held rallies in the constituency.

Taking a potshot, Shah, at a rally in Kishni, had said that the SP claims to be a well-wisher of the Yadavs but only shows the family during elections. He said the time has come “to end the family-based party and ensure that the lotus blooms”, ThePrint reported.

In a first, five members of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s clan are contesting the Lok Sabha elections. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is running from Kannauj, Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri, Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh, Aditya Yadav from Badaun and Akshay Yadav from Firozabad.

With inputs from agencies