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Mulayam Singh Yadav was born on 22nd November 1939. An Indian politician, he founded the Samajwadi Party. He served three staggered terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Minister of Defence for the Government of India. He was a Member of Parliament for an extended period, formerly representing the Lok Sabha seat of Mainpuri in addition to the Azamgarh and Sambhal seats. He is usually referred to as Netaji by party leaders and members, which is Hindi, meaning “respected leader.”
Key Takeaways
- Mulayam was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the first time in 1989. Yadav established his independent Samajwadi Party in 1992. (Socialist Party).
- In the 1993 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, he allied with Bahujan Samaj Party.
- Yadav was initially elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in 1967, after being trained by luminaries such as Ram Manohar Lohia and Raj Narain. Mulayam Singh Yadav spent eight terms there.
- Mulayam, who emerged as a socialist candidate, swiftly became a cornerstone of the OBC, filling most of the political space left vacant by Congress.
- He became Uttar Pradesh’s 15th chief minister in 1989, the year that the Congress was deposed, and has struggled to retake power of the state since.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Education and Early Years
Mulayam Singh Yadav was born to Sughar Singh Yadav and Murti Devi on November 22, 1939, in Saifai Village, Etawah District, Uttar Pradesh. Mulayam Singh Yadav earned a B.A. in Political Science at Karm Kshetra Post Graduate College in Etawah, a B.T. from AK College in Shikohabad, and an M.A. in Political Science at B.R. College, Agra University. Mulayam Singh Yadav is a professional teacher who began his career as a professor in the Uttar Pradesh town of Karhail. He is also popular for his love towards wrestling.
Political Entry
Mulayam Singh Yadav was influenced by socialist hero Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia’s views and values. He entered politics at the age of fifteen, after meeting Sarvashri Mah Limaye, Rama Sewak Yadav, Karpoori Anurag, Janeshwar Mishra, and Raj Narayan. Mulayam Singh Yadav took part in various agitations for the protection and welfare of workers, farmers, backward and minority groups, and students’ rights. From the year 1962 to 1963, Mulayam was the chairman of the student organisation at Etawah Degree College, A.K. College in Shikohabad, & K.K. College in Etawah.
Mulayam Singh Yadav Family
Mulayam Singh Yadav has been married twice. Malti Devi, his first wife, struggled to give birth to their only child, Akhilesh Yadav, and also was left in a vegetative condition from 1974 until her death in May 2003. Akhilesh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 until 2017. Mulayam had an extramarital affair with Sadhana Gupta in the 1990s while still engaged to Malti Devi.
Gupta’s involvement was not publicly disclosed until the Indian Supreme Court admitted it in February 2007. Sadhana Gupta has a child named Prateek Yadav from her previous marriage, who was born in 1988. Prateek’s wife, Aparna Bisht Yadav, joined the party in 2022.
The founder of the Samajwadi Party
In 1992, Mulayam Singh Yadav created the SP (Samajwadi Party). It was one of the numerous groups formed whenever the Janata Dal was split into regional parties. The Samajwadi Party was formed just a month well before the destruction of the Babri Masjid, and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s organisation is claimed to have played an important role in avoiding rioting in Uttar Pradesh. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP is predominantly located in UP, and it has run in the country’s Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav
First Trem
Mulayam Singh Yadav was appointed the CM of UP in the year 1989. After VP Singh’s National Government collapsed in 1990, he joined the Janata Dal (Socialist) Party and remained in power with the backing of the Indian National Congress.
Second Term
Mulayam Singh Yadav established the SP in 1992. Then in 1993, he formed an alliance with the BSP for the UP elections in November 1993. The coalition forged by the Samajwadi Party as well as the Bahujan Samaj Party stopped the BJP from returning to the state. With the backing of Congress and the Janata Dal, Mulayam Singh Yadav was elected CM of Uttar Pradesh.
Third Term
After a tumultuous post-election period in UP, the BSP and the BJP joined up to establish a government led by Dalit Leader Mayawati, who was regarded as one of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s main competitors in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party left the government in 2003, creating the conditions for Mulayam Singh Yadav to become CM of Uttar Pradesh. In 2003, he was sworn in for the third time as the UP CM.
Mulayam Singh Yadav family feuds and controversy
Yadav was always surrounded by controversy because he believed that in politics, there were no permanent enemies or friends. His judgments about party ties with outsiders were always made with the advantage of SP in mind. In Uttar Pradesh, he targeted Backward Castes & Muslims and actively advocated for this tactic. Asaduddin Owaisi, head of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, publicly criticised him, pointing out that Yadav had long seen Muslims in Uttar Pradesh as a potential voting bank.
When Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered shooting at Kar Sevaks in the 1990s, some were brutally slain when they neared Babri Masjid peacefully opposing the unlawful building of the Mosque at Ram Janmabhoomi. He also ordered the firing of unarmed Uttarakhand statehood advocates in Rampur Tiraha in 1994. This resulted in the deaths of six activists as well as suspected rapes and molestation of specific women.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Achievements
- He was MP of Lok Sabha five times between 1996 and 1998, 2004, 2009, 2014, then 2019.
- He was also a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (1985, 1974, and 1967).
- In 1992, he created the Samajwadi Party.
- Ram Manohar Lohia was Mulayam Singh Yadav’s mentor in many respects. Lohia was instrumental in developing the seasoned leader.
- Netaji was the CM of Uttar Pradesh from 1989 – 1991, 1993 – 1995, and from 2003 – 2007.
- He was also Minister of Defence in the Indian government from 1996 to 1998.
- In the Lok Sabha, he represented the Mainpuri seat.
