The Samajwadi Party on Monday named Shivpal Singh Yadav as one of its star campaigners for the remaining three phases of the Uttar Pradesh elections, reported ANI. The move indicates an improvement in relationship between Shivpal Yadav and his nephew and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Shivpal Yadav heads the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia),which he had floated in 2018 after a family feud. Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav had a fallout over seat sharing ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017.
On December 16, Akhilesh Yadav had announced an alliance with the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia). Shivpal Yadav was not included in the Samajwadi Party’s list of campaigners released ahead of the elections, according to the Hindustan Times.
Among the party’s other star campaigners are Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party last month.
Star campaigners are individuals who parties believe could have greater influence on voters. There is no law on who could be made a star campaigner, but according to the Election Commission’s guidelines, a national or state party can name a maximum of 40 star campaigners for an election. The expenditure on election events involving star campaigners are not included in the poll body’s cap of Rs 70 lakh expenditure by a candidate.
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