Extending his good wishes to his sister-in-law Aparna Yadav, who joined Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said it was good that his party's ideology had now reached the ruling party's doorstep.

"Firstly, I would like to congratulate Aparna and I am happy that the samajwadi socialist ideology is expanding... Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) tried to convince her,” he said when asked to comment on her joining the saffron party.

Akhilesh Yadav added, "Netaji tried to explain a lot but nothing happened."

Aparna Yadav joined the BJP in Delhi on Wednesday. She was inducted into the BJP fold at the party’s headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and party’s unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh. Aparna Yadav is married to Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek Yadav,

Akhilesh said that Mulayam Singh Yadav tried hard to convince her but she did what she wanted.

Asked whether Aparna joined the BJP because she was denied a ticket by the SP , Akhilesh said: "We have not yet given all tickets. The decision on tickets depends on our internal survey."

Aparna Yadav’s joining the BJP came close on heels of several saffron party leaders, including three cabinet ministers, defecting to the SP last week.

The crucial 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly will go to polls in seven phases starting from February 10. The results will be announced on March 10.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh also announced on Wednesday that if he was voted to power, he would triple the Samajwadi pension given to poor women from Rs 6,000 per year to Rs 18,000 per year.