Mulayam votes in native village Saifai

Lucknow, Feb 19: Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav cast his vote in his native village of Saifai on Sunday afternoon.

Accompanied by wife Sadhna and daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, the SP leader walked into the polling station, and waved to his supporters.

Visibly uninterested in talking to waiting media persons, Mulayam Yadav gestured towards supporters with folded hands. He said that this was not a press conference and that he was here to vote.

This is for the first time in the past 25 years that the Yadav chieftain did not come to vote as the national president of the party.

Edged out from the top post by his Chief Minister son Akhilesh Yadav, he has since not campaigned for SP candidates, except for two rallies in favour of his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav who is contesting from Jaswantnagar seat in Etawah, and for Aparna, who is contesting from Lucknow Cantt.