Budaun (UP) Apr 12 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday got involved in a war of words with the former claiming the SP candidates are not able to "muster courage" to face election.

Yadav hit back terming Maurya an 'apshakuni' (bad omen) for his party.

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Addressing the conference of booth presidents here, Maurya said, "The Samajwadi Party has now become a 'samaptvadi' party which will not be even found after the 2024 elections."

"SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is naming his uncle Shivpal as the candidate and the uncle is naming his son as the candidate. Such a situation is not just in Budaun but in the entire state. Due to the fear of defeat, SP candidates are not able to muster the courage to contest the elections," Maurya said.

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The SP has declared party general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav as its candidate from the Budaun Lok Sabha constituency. However, later in several conferences, the party workers passed a resolution to make Shivpal's son Aditya Yadav as the candidate.

Shivpal Yadav had also recently announced that Aditya Yadav will contest elections from Budaun.

Later, talking to mediapersons, Shivpal Yadav hit out at Maurya calling him an apshakuni (bad omen) for the BJP. Wherever he goes, the BJP loses, he said.

Citing the example of by-elections held in the Ghosi assembly constituency and the Mainpuri parliamentary constituency, Shivpal Yadav said Maurya went to campaign at both these places and the SP achieved a "record victory".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)