Akhilesh Yadav

Akhilesh Yadav (; born 1 July 1973) is an Indian politician and national president of the Samajwadi Party, who served as the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017. Having assumed the chief minister's office at the age of 38, he is the youngest person to have held the office till date. He is the incumbent Member of Parliament for Kannauj in the 18th Lok Sabha, where he is the parliamentary party leader of Samajwadi Party. Earlier, he was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Karhal in the 18th Vidhan Sabha, before resigning and has also been the Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from March 2022 to June 2024.

His first significant success in politics was being elected as the Member of the 13th Lok Sabha in the year 2000 (by-poll) for the Kannauj constituency. He is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, a veteran Indian politician and the founder of Samajwadi Party who served as Minister of Defence, Government of India and served three terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Early life and education Yadav was born on 1 July 1973 in Saifai, Etawah District, Uttar Pradesh. He was born to Malti Devi and Mulayam Singh Yadav, later Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Malti Devi suffered complications while giving birth to Akhilesh which put her in a vegetative state. She died in 2003. With Mulayam Singh Yadav busy making a career in politics, Akhilesh was brought up mostly by his paternal grandparents.

He completed his early education in a local school in Saifai and then one in Etawah town. He was schooled at Dholpur Military School in Dholpur, Rajasthan, then obtained his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India.

Political career

Yadav was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from Kannauj in a by-election in 2000. He was also a member of the Committee on Food, Civil Supplies, and Public Distribution. Yadav served as a Member of the Committee on Ethics from 2000 to 2001 and in 2004 was elected as a member of the 14th Lok Sabha for a second term. He was at times a member of the following committees: Committee on Urban Development, Committee on Provision of Computers for various departments, Committee on Science and Technology, and Committee on Environment and Forests.

From 2009 to 2012 Yadav was elected and served as a member of the 15th Lok Sabha for a second term. During this period he was a member of the following committees: Member of the Committee on Environment and Forests, Committee on Science and Technology, and the JPC on the 2G spectrum case. On 10 March 2012 he was appointed leader of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. On 15 March 2012, at the age of 38, he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the youngest to hold the office. In the same month he became Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative council. In the 2017 Assembly elections, the SP-Congress Alliance headed by Yadav was unable to form the government. He submitted his resignation to Governor Ram Naik on 11 March.

The 2019 Indian general elections and 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections saw Yadav being elected to the parliament and state assembly simultaneously, with Yadav later retaining his state assembly seat, and thereby submitting his resignation in the Lok Sabha.

In the 2024 Indian general election Yadav was elected to the 18th Lok Sabha from Kannauj. During his tenure, the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, thelongest expressway in India at that time, was inaugurated. Yadav also launched the "UP100 Police Service", "Women Power Line 1090" and "108 Ambulance Service". Projects like the Lucknow Metro Rail, Lucknow International Ekana Cricket Stadium, Janeshwar Mishra Park (Asia's largest park), Jayaprakash Narayan International Convection Center, IT city were inaugurated. Between 2012 and 2015, over 15 Lakh laptops were distributed to the 10th and 12th passout students by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, making it one of the largest distribution schemes by any government in the world.

Positions held Akhilesh Yadav has been elected 1 time as MLA and 5 times as Lok Sabha MP. From To Position Party 1. 2000 2004 MP (1st term) in 13th Lok Sabha from Kannauj (by-poll) SP 2. 2004 2009 MP (2nd term) in 14th Lok Sabha from Kannauj SP 3. 2009 2012 MP (3rd term) in 15th Lok Sabha from Kannauj (resigned in 2012) and Firozabad (resigned in 2009) SP 4. 2012 2018 MLC (1st term) in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Chief Minister (1st term) in Government of UP (2012–2017) SP 5. 2019 2022 MP (4th term) in 17th Lok Sabha from Azamgarh (resigned in 2022) SP 6. 2022 12 June 2024 MLA (1st term) from KarhalLeader of the Opposition of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly SP 7. 2024 Present Member of the 18th Lok Sabha (5th time) from Kannauj SP

Election history

Lok Sabha Year ConstituencyParty Votes % OpponentOpponent party Opponent votes % Result Margin % 2000*Kannauj 3,06,054 43.1 Akbar Ahmad Dumpy 2,47,329 34.8 58,725 8.3 2004 4,64,367 61.21 Thakur Rajesh Singh 1,56,994 20.69 3,07,373 40.522009 3,56,895 48.1 Mahesh Chandra Verma 1,91,887 25.86 1,65,008 22.24 Firozabad 2,87,011 41.9 S. P. Singh Baghel 2,19,710 32.1 67,301 9.8 2019 Azamgarh 6,21,578 60.04 Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' 3,61,704 35.1 2,59,874 24.94 2024 Kannauj 6,42,292 52.74 Subrat Pathak 4,71,370 38.71 1,70,922 14.03

(*) denotes by-election

Member of Legislative Assembly (Uttar Pradesh) Year ConstituencyParty Votes % OpponentOpponent party Opponent votes % Result Margin % 2022 Karhal 148,196 60.12 Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel 80,692 32.74 67,504 27.38

Personal life

Akhilesh Yadav is married to Dimple Yadav, a Member of Parliament. The couple has three children; two daughters: Aditi and Tina, and a son, Arjun. Akhilesh is a civil engineer, agriculturist, and socio-political worker. He has a keen interest in sports, mainly football and cricket. His favourite pastimes are reading, listening to music, and watching films.

Since Yadav became chief minister, his family was divided into two feuding groups, one siding with him and the other with his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. Akhilesh had the support of his father's cousin, Ram Gopal Yadav, while Shivpal later founded his own political party, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), which ahead of 2022 elections again merged with Samajwadi Party, with Shivpal being elected as an MLA on a Samajwadi Party ticket.