Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday released its list of star campaigners for the seven Assembly seats where by-elections are to be held on November 3.
Interestingly, the name of Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan was missing from the list.
According to sources, the move is an indication that the party is trying to distance itself from the comments Jaya Bachchan had made in the Rajya Sabha over the alleged issue of drug addiction in Bollywood.
However, office-bearers of the party said the decision was taken as the Rajya Sabha MP will not be able to campaign owing to her ill health.
Bachchan had criticised those tarnishing the image of the film industry, a day after BJP Lok Sabha MP and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan said there was a problem of drug addiction in Bollywood.
Read: War of Words: Ravi Kishan hits back at Jaya Bachchan
However, the party's list of star campaigners includes Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurugram after testing Covid positive, and MP Mohd Azam Khan, who is still in jail.
Others in the list of star campaigners include SP president Akhilesh Yadav, vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda, party general secretary Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, Inderjit Saroj, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Ram Govind Chaudhary and state president Naresh Uttam Patel.
