Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, the 28-year-old nephew of Akhilesh, is one of the youngest MPs (from Mainpuri) in Parliament.An MBA from Leeds University in the UK, Tej Pratap is married to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s youngest daughter Raj Laxmi. Excerpts from an interview of the man who along with the chief minister represents the progressive side of SP politics:I am confident that the SP is going to win in the 2017 elections. Our conviction comes on the back of the development work done by the CM. Whatever he had promised, he has delivered — be it Samajwadi Pension, Metro rail, expressway and free laptops.He has taken the villages and cities together on the road to development. He has also ensured that the females get equal benefits. The BJP is our main rival. Even though the BSP has been the main opposition for the past five years, it hasn’t raised even a single issue.It is Netaji who is supreme in Samajwadi Party — whatever he says is sacrosanct; everyone listens to him and now that he has brought the two sides together, the matter has been settled.Only the Opposition is saying this. Look at the personality of the CM from the time he became the CM in 2012 to now. Earlier he was in the shadows…learning the ropes…not everyone knew of Akhilesh. And now he has emerged from the shadows of Netaji. He is an able administrator.Aesa nahi hai. Ek baar nahi, kai-kai baar baat hoti hai; ek parivaar ke hai (This is not true. Not once but they talk several times in a day. They belong to the same family). If they are not in the same city, they talk over the phone.The traditional vote of the Samajwadi Party was in the rural areas. But since the time Akhilesh became the CM, we have an equal following in urban areas. In fact, now I think we will get more votes in urban areas.Earlier we were weak in urban areas. Now you go to Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Ghaziabad, for that matter any city in UP, and you will find an equal following in these places.Yadavs, Muslims and other backward castes are our core vote. Again it varies from place to place — it depends on the strength of the candidate. In different places, depending upon the caste equation and strength of the candidate, the Patels, Kurmis, Shakyas are with us; in some of the places even SCs & STs are our vote bank. In 2009, the SP had two MPs from the Patel community.Why is it that people especially the Opposition do not talk about development but only law and order? Because they do not want to show the CM in a good light. Look at what is happening in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Their crime figures are worse but they have found a scapegoat in Uttar Pradesh.Why for a change can’t the people look at the work done by the CM in the form of bridges, expressways and roads? All depends on what one wants to see.Every party witnesses ups and downs…in 1984 the BJP had just two MPs. Every party goes through this cycle. And if people have elected us (from the Yadav family), they must have voted us on the basis of some quality. We must respect people’s choice.As a part of the youth wing, I have seen very closely how the youth is key for the party. One can see that many youth faces have been given charge — and they do not come from political background. They have worked their way up.The youth is the backbone of the party…There must be some rationale for sacking the young leaders. But I am sure that the candidates will get the chance to present their case and justice will be done soon.Yes, that’s an issue. The CM also said that he is not aware. I think he will speak to the party leader. We will look into it and ensure that no tainted leader gets a ticket. We are committed toward this.As the CM is the face of the party, he will be held responsible for the outcome of the elections, so he will definitely have a say (in candidate selection).It is a decision of the party high command — only he can comment on this. The parliamentary board members of the party must have discussed the matter.Look, Akhilesh is just 43 and in the last four and a half years, he has achieved a lot. He has some 30 active years ahead of him. Just imagine what all he can still do for the state and the country.One day you will see him at the highest position in the country…He can become the PM after being an able CM.