Bhupendra Yadav Plays Safe, Keeps Daughter’s Wedding Low Profile

Ever since his name figured as a possible candidate to be considered for BJP President, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav has been discreet and cautious in his conduct. It is being said he recently went on to conduct a low-profile wedding of his daughter in Himachal. In doing so, he apparently took a leaf out of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s playbook and followed her example of marrying off her only daughter in a simple ceremony in Bengaluru without drawing much attention in June 2023. He probably wanted to avoid the kind of record the incumbent BJP chief JP Nadda had set by hosting a wedding reception for his second son in a Delhi stadium two years ago. Of course in February 2022, Yadav had arranged an impressive wedding of one of his daughters in Delhi in midst of Covid-19 pandemic and top leaders including President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi had attended the event. With the prospect of an important responsibility looming in the horizon for him, Yadav probably didn’t want to risk his career at this juncture. Considered close to Home Minister Amit Shah, Yadav was hoping to be made Law Minister — a portfolio he lost to Arjun Meghwal who like him also hails from Rajasthan. At the same time BJP sources are still not sure if course corrections like what Yadav has done will help him clinch the top job. Much as they say will still depend on the small mercy shown by the Big 2 at the top.