Mulayam Singh Yadav

Yadav addressing at the National Development Council in New Delhi on December 9, 2006

Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician. He was a socialist figure and the founder of the Samajwadi Party[en]. He also served 3 non-consecutive terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He previously served as the Minister of Defence in Government of India from 1996 till 1998.

He was the Member of Parliament representing the Mainpuri constituency in the Lok Sabha from 2019 until his death in 2022. He previously had represented in Lok Sabha from Azamgarh, Sambhal and Kannauj constituencies.

He had a political career for more than six decades. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for 7 times and the Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (MLA) for 10 times. He was known as Netaji (which means respected leader in Hindi) by party leaders and workers.^[1]^[2]

Early life

Yadav was born on 22 November 1939 in Saifai village, Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh, India.^[3] Akhilesh Yadav is his only son from his first marriage to Malti Devi.^[4]

Yadav earned three degrees in political science —^[3]

B.A. from Karm Kshetra Post Graduate College in Etawah
B.T. from A. K. College in Shikohabad
M.A. from B. R. College, Agra University[en].

Career

Teaching career

Before joining politics, Yadav was engaged in teaching profession. In 1963, he was a teacher at Jain Inter-College in Karhal, Mainpuri. After attaining his master degree, he was promoted to a lecturer in 1974. ^[5]^[6]

Yadav calls on the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on June 28, 2004

Political career

Yadav was groomed to enter politics by leaders such as Ram Manohar Lohia and Raj Narain. Yadav was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in 1967. Yadav served eight terms there.^[7] In 1975, during Indira Gandhi's imposition of the Emergency, Yadav was arrested. He was kept imprisoned for 19 months.^[8]

He first became a state minister in 1977. Later in 1980, he became the president of the Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh. Later the party became a part of the Janata Dal[en] (means People's Party). In 1982, he was elected leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and held that post until 1985. When the Lok Dal party split, Yadav launched the Krantikari Morcha party.^[9]

Yadav first became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989.^[10]

Mulayam Singh Yadav had been elected 10 times as MLA and 7 times as Lok Sabha MP.^[11]^[12]^[13]

Personal life and death

Yadav was married twice. His first married to Malti Devi, who was in a vegetative state from 1974 until her death in May 2003 following complications while giving birth to their only child, Akhilesh Yadav. Akhilesh was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017.^[4]^[14]

Mulayam had a relationship with Sadhana Gupta even after married to Malti Devi in the 1990s.^[15]^[16] Gupta was not well known until February 2007. Later, the relationship was admitted in India's Supreme Court.^[17] Sadhana Gupta had a son named Prateek Yadav (born 1988), from her first marriage^[18] to Chandra Prakash Gupta.^[19] Sadhana Gupta died in July 2022 after a brief illness.^[20]

In September 2022, Yadav was admitted to hospital and put on a ventilator after his condition is not good. He had been in hospital for a month.^[21] Yadav died on 10 October 2022 at age 82 in a hospital in Gurgaon.^[22]^[23] His last rites were performed with full state honours at his hometown Saifai.^[24]^[25]