SP’s Developmental Work Attracted Me to Join the Party, Says Poonam Sinha

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party’s Lucknow candidate, Poonam Sinha, is confident about her win and has said that the developmental work done by Akhilesh Yadav attracted her to join the party. She is fielded against BJP’s Rajnath Singh.

“People are looking for a change,” she said while speaking to News18. Sinha is the wife actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who recently switched from the BJP to the Congress.

On her candidature from Lucknow, Sinha said, “It was not decided in a day. However, SP Chief Akhileshji was quite firm about my candidature. He wanted me to contest from the state capital.”

Shatrughan Sinha is contesting from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat on Congress ticket. On conflict of interest due to her husband’s Congress affiliation, Sinha said, “This is a democracy and we have a right to choose our ideologies. He was already in talks with the Congress when I got a call from the SP.”

She said that her husband and daughter, actor Sonakshi Sinha, have been supportive throughout. “Sonakshi is helping me in every way she can by using social media platforms,” Sinha said.

Congress’s Lucknow candidate, Acharya Pramod Krishnam, had earlier termed Sinha as a ‘parachute’ candidate’. To this, Sinha said, “He will come to know who the real parachute candidate is. I am visiting old Lucknow area and we are getting massive support as people have recognised the development work done by Akhilesh Yadav during his tenure.”

Sinha said that her vision for Lucknow would be like that of the party chief, hinged around development.

“My vision for Lucknow will be that of my leader Akhilesh Yadav who has done phenomenal work for the state. We are not making tall promises like others as we don’t believe in promising and then not delivering them. We tell people about our leader and ask them to elect him and in return we will be selected for working towards his developmental vision,” she said.

Sinha said that she isn’t nervous about being fielded against Home Minister Rajnath Singh. “We are confident of the development work done by Akhileshji. On the contrary, Rajnath cannot boast of any developmental work. He should give chance to those who have actually worked for the development and have capability to develop the city further,” Sinha said.

Lucknow will go to polls in the fifth phase on May 6 and the results will be declared on May 23.