Lucknow, Jun 8 (IANS): When Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav took the Covid vaccine in a hospital in Gurugram on Monday, little did he foresee that it would unleash vaccine politics in Uttar Pradesh.

Mulayam Singh Yadav got himself vaccinated against Covid in Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. As soon as a photograph of the SP founder taking the jab went viral on the social media the ruling BJP got busy.

Party state president, Swatantra Dev Singh, tweeted the photograph expressing hope that taking inspiration from the SP founder, the party's national president and cadres would also get themselves vaccinated.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya said, "It is now up to the people to decide whether Mulayam had provided BJP publicity or put an end to the confusion spread by his son."

It may be recalled that SP president Akhilesh Yadav had commented that the vaccine was a 'BJP vaccine' and he would not get himself vaccinated.

"How can I trust the vaccine which will be used for vaccination by the BJP? We cannot get inoculated by the BJP's vaccine," Akhilesh had said at a press conference in Lucknow, some months ago.

The BJP had described Akhilesh's statement as an attempt to spread confusion among the people about the efficacy of the vaccine.

Maurya asked him to apologize now that his father had got himself vaccinated.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, had also got herself vaccinated.

Majority of the SP leaders have not taken the vaccine and those who have, have done it secretly.

Akhilesh had later clarified that he had full faith in the country's doctors and scientists and that he was in no confusion about their ability to make the vaccine.