Who is Aparna Yadav, Mulayam Singh's daughter-in-law, accused by her husband of ‘destroying’ his family? – Firstpost

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family is at the centre of a storm. The late Samajwadi Party (SP) founder’s younger son, Prateek Yadav, has announced on social media that he will divorce his wife, Aparna Yadav, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.

Accusing her of “destroying" his family, he called Aparna a “selfish woman". Aparna Yadav came to the limelight recently over the “religious conversion” case at Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University (KGMU).

But who is she? We take a look.

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The Yadav family rift

Prateek Yadav, the younger son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and half-brother of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, has aired his dirty laundry on social media.

Taking to Instagram, he lashed out at his wife, Aparna Yadav, saying he is seeking to divorce her. Prateek alleged that Aparna “ruined” his relationship with his family and is only interested in becoming “famous and influential”.

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“I am going to divorce this selfish woman as soon as possible. She ruined my family ties. All she wants to become is famous and influential. Right now, i am very terrible mental health condition and she doesn’t bother. Because it’s only herself she bothers about. I have never seen such a poor soul, and i was unfortunate to get married to her (sic)," he wrote in a post.

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As per NDTV, however, Aparna’s brother, Aman Bisht, claimed that Prateek’s Instagram account was “hacked”. Aparna is yet to react to the allegations.

Prateek Yadav reportedly married Aparna Bisht in 2011 and the couple has a daughter. Prateek is the son of Mulayam Singh with his second wife, Sadhana Gupta.

An MBA graduate from Leeds University in London, he works in real estate. He has stayed away from active politics and has mainly focused on his businesses.

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He is involved in fitness ventures and animal welfare efforts.

Who is Aparna Yadav?

Aparna Yadav, 36, is the vice-chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Women’s Commission. Her parents, who hail from Uttarakhand, are followers of the Gorakhnath Matt headed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

She is a postgraduate in International Relations and Politics from Manchester University in the UK. A trained singer in classical and semi-classical music from Bhatkhande Music Institute, Lucknow, Aparna regularly performed at Saifai Mahotsav and Lucknow Mahotsav before taking the political plunge.

Aparna’s first political appearance was in 2014 during the SP’s National Executive, as per an Indian Express report. In 2017, she contested the UP Assembly elections from the Lucknow Cantonment constituency on an SP ticket. Party insiders told the newspaper that Aparna was nominated following intervention by Mulayam Singh Yadav, who even campaigned for her.

However, Aparna lost the seat to the BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi by 33,798 votes. Later, she was reportedly sidelined in the SP, especially as ailing Mulayam took a backseat.

In the SP, Aparna ran a social organisation for women. But her growing political ambitions resulted in her leaving the party.

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Known as “Chhoti Bahu” in the SP, Aparna switched to the BJP in 2022 ahead of the Assembly elections. Before the shift, she had started praising some policies of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering speculations about joining the saffron party.

At the time of the switch, she remarked she was inspired by Modi’s leadership and the BJP’s policies. “I have always been inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I now want to try and do better for the country. I have always been very impressed by the schemes of the BJP and I will do my top in the party,” she noted.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had reported he was joyful that “the party’s socialist ideology is spreading”. But he claimed that his father had tried hard to convince Aparna not to join the BJP.

Aparna did not get a ticket to contest the 2022 UP Assembly polls or the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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About two-and-a-half years after she entered the BJP, Aparna was appointed the vice-chairperson of the State Women’s Commission in September 2024.

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KGMU ‘religious conversion’ case

Aparna Yadav was making headlines even before her husband’s explosive post. Earlier this month, her supporters tried to storm inside the Vice-Chancellor’s office at Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University (KGMU) after a junior resident doctor was arrested on allegations of forcible religious conversion and sexual exploitation of two women.

Aparna criticised KGMU and its handling of the case, accusing the university of indulging in “religious conversion” and preventing female doctors from “approaching the Commission”.

The university administration, on the other hand, alleged that Aparna and her supporters barged into the campus and vandalised university property after seeking a meeting with Vice-Chancellor Soniya Nityananda, a Padma Shri awardee, reported Indian Express. 

The varsity also lodged a police complaint against Aparna for vandalism.

As per Indian Express sources in the BJP, Aparna is likely seeking a larger role in the party or a ticket to contest the 2027 UP Assembly elections.

With inputs from agencies

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