In May 2004, then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav addressed a series of public meetings in Mainpuri district, asking voters whether to retain the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat that he had won recently or retain the CM’s chair by resigning from the prestigious parliamentary seat.
Taking a cue from the people, Yadav publicly announced that he would resign from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and continue as CM. He quipped: “The post of the UP chief minister is only next to the Prime Minister…”
More than 18 years after that episode, Mainpuri is gearing up for a parliamentary