Not My Disciple Or "Chela": Shivpal Yadav On BJP's Mainpuri Candidate

Raghuraj Shakya Shakya had last week said Shivpal Singh Yadav is his "political guru" and he will seek his blessings.

In an apparent reference to the BJP's Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll candidate Raghuraj Shakya, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav Monday said the ruling party's nominee is not his disciple or 'chela'.

Mr Shakya, who has been pitted against Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll necessitated by the death of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, had last week said Shivpal Singh Yadav is his "political guru" and he will seek his blessings.

He was once a close associate of Shivpal Yadav but quit his PSPL to join the BJP earlier this year. Shakya was earlier a Samajwadi Party (SP) MP and had sided with Shivpal Yadav after he formed his own party.

Canvassing for Dimple Yadav at a rally in Jaswant Nagar, Shivpal Yadav said a person is "roaming among you and seeking vote... He is saying that he is my 'shishya'".