Mulayam Singh Yadav

Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) also known "Neta ji" was an Indian politician, schoolmaster, lecturer and a socialist figure and the founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and also as the Union Minister of Defence in the Government of India. A long-time parliamentarian, he was a seven-time Member of Parliament representing Mainpuri, Azamgarh, Sambhal and Kannauj constituencies in the Lok Sabha, a ten-time member of the Legislative Assembly, member of the Legislative Council and the Leader of Opposition several times as well. Yadav was often referred to as Netaji by his party leaders and workers. In 2023, he was posthumously conferred with Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award by the Government of India.

Early life and career Mulayam Singh Yadav was born to Murti Devi and Sughar Singh Yadav on 22 November 1939 in Saifai village, United Provinces, British India (present-day Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh, India). Akhilesh Yadav is his only son from his first marriage to Malti Devi.

Yadav earned three degrees in political science — a B.A. from Karm Kshetra Post Graduate College in Etawah, a B.T. from A. K. College in Shikohabad, and an M.A. from B. R. College, Agra University. at Jain Inter-College in Karhal, Mainpuri. In 1974, he was promoted to a lecturer after attaining his master's degree.

Earlier political career He started his career with student politics which he began at K.K. Degree College in Etawah, where he became the students’ union president, marking his entry into politics. Groomed by leaders such as Ram Manohar Lohia, Raj Narain, Anantram Jaiswal and Chandra Shekhar, Yadav was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in 1967 from Jaswantnagar on a ticket of Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), the party founded by Anantram Jaiswal and George Fernandes. In 1975, during Indira Gandhi's imposition of the Emergency, Yadav was arrested and detained for 19 months.

He first became a state minister in 1977. Later, in 1980, he became the president of the Lok Dal (People's Party) in Uttar Pradesh, which became a part of the Janata Dal (People's Party) afterwards. 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.

Chief Minister First term Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Singh formed a coalition government in Uttar Pradesh in 1993, Yadav first became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989.

In 1990, a large body of Sangh Parivar and Vishwa Hindu Parishad supporters reached Ayodhya and attempted to attack the 16th-century Babri mosque built on occupied land. They organised a march towards the mosque in an attempt to reclaim the land for a grand temple for Hindu god Rama. This resulted in a pitched battle with the paramilitary forces. The state government's official records report that at least 17 marching religious volunteers, or kar sevaks were killed. The BJP withdrew its support to the V. P. Singh ministry, necessitating fresh elections. The BJP substantially increased its tally in the union parliament, as well as winning a majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

After the collapse of the Union government led by V. P. Singh in November 1990, Yadav joined Chandra Shekhar's Janata Dal (Socialist) party and continued in office as chief minister with the support of the Indian National Congress (INC). His government fell when the INC withdrew its support in April 1991 in the aftermath of developments at the national level where it had earlier withdrawn its support for Chandra Shekhar's government. Mid-term elections to Uttar Pradesh assembly were held in mid-1991, in which Mulayam Singh's party lost power to the BJP.

Second term In 1992, Yadav founded his own Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party). In 1992, Hindu right wing mob was involved in the demolition of the Babri Mosque, which caused violence across India. The alliance between Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party prevented the return of BJP to power in the state.

In 1993, Yadav became the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time.

Third term In 2002, following a fluid post-election situation in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Bahujan Samaj Party joined to form a government under Dalit leader Mayawati, who was considered to be Yadav's greatest political rival in the state. The BJP pulled out of the government on 25 August 2003, and enough rebel legislators of the Bahujan Samaj Party left to allow Yadav to become the Chief Minister, with the support of independents and small parties. He was sworn in as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the third time in September 2003.

1996 Lok Sabha election (Minister of Defence) In 1996, Yadav was elected to the eleventh Lok Sabha from Mainpuri constituency.

1998, 1999 Lok Sabha election He contested the Lok Sabha general elections of 1999 from two seats, Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency. Later following year 1999, he contested also in Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency, and won both seats. He resigned from the Kannauj seat for his son Akhilesh in the by-elections and retained Sambhal. As a result, Yadav could not play any significant role at the centre. Yadav resigned from the Lok Sabha and chose to continue as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh until the 2007 elections, when he lost to the BSP.

2009 Lok Sabha election

2014 Lok Sabha election He was elected in the 2014 Indian general election. He became an MP in the 16th Lok Sabha from Azamgarh and Mainpuri. In June 2014 he resigned from Mainpuri seat and continued to represent Azamgarh in Parliament.

In May 2017, two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies were mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team. When Yadav, who had served as the Defence Minister in past, was asked by journalists to comment on the attacks, he responded by saying "Defence Minister (Arun Jaitley) is weak and coward can never take on enemies. I have one question for the union government and the minister concerned: why are you not able to muster courage to show the enemy their place." He also said that during his term as defence minister in the Deve Gowda ministry, he had ordered the Indian Army to cross into Pakistan in response to attacks.

2019 Lok Sabha election He was re-elected in the 2019 Indian general election from Mainpuri for a fifth time. This was his fourth consecutive victory from the same constituency. On 30 December 2016, Mulayam Yadav expelled his son Akhilesh and his cousin Ram Gopal from the party for six years on the grounds of indiscipline, only to revoke the decision 24 hours later. Akhilesh, in response, stripped his father of the party presidency and instead named him the chief patron of the party following the national convention of the party on 1 January 2017. Mulayam termed the national convention illegal and directly expelled his cousin, Ram Gopal Yadav, who had convened the national executive convention. But the Election commission of India ruled that Ram Gopal Yadav had the right to convene that executive convention, and reversed Mulayam's order. Hence Akhilesh Yadav officially became the new national leader of the party.

Positions held Mulayam Singh Yadav had been elected 10 times as MLA and 7 times as Lok Sabha MP.

Support for a sovereign independent Tibet Yadav said it is necessary for India to support a sovereign and independent Tibet. He said that a past government had made a "big mistake" on the issue and noted that he had spoken against it at the time. He believed that Tibet was a traditional buffer between China and India and that India should support the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence. Claiming that China had secreted nuclear weapons in Pakistan, he cautioned that "China is our enemy, not Pakistan. Pakistan can do us no damage".

Controversies

Comment on rape The crime of rape became a capital offence in India following the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident; Yadav had opposed changing this law. Following the trial in the Shakti Mills gang rape, on 10 April 2014, in an election rally, Yadav said, "When boys and girls have differences, the girl gives a statement that 'the boy raped me,' and that poor boy gets a death sentence." Referring to the Mumbai gang rape he stated, "... later they had differences, and the girl went and gave a statement that I have been raped. And then the poor fellows, three of them have been sentenced to death. Should rape cases lead to hanging? Boys are boys, they make mistakes. Two or three have been given the death sentence in Mumbai." His statements led to complaints being filed against Yadav with the Election Commission and the National Commission for Women (NCW). public prosecutor in the Shakti Mills gang rape case Ujjwal Nikam, Bollywood celebrities, and politicians like Narendra Modi and Raj Thackeray.

"Ladke, ladke hain. Galti ho jati hai" he said while campaigning in Moradabad during the 2014 general elections, Yadav opposed the death penalty for rape convicts, suggesting it was an "unfair" law that should be amended. "Handing death sentence for rape is not fair... boys make mistakes... there will be changes in the law if we come to power,'" he reportedly said, external at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh. Newspapers and websites are criticising Mr Yadav for his "insensitive and unfortunate" comment, which came on a day India was voting in the third phase of the general election. "Mulayam Singh Yadav sinks to a new low, defends rapists to woo voters," says The Times of India. "Even by his misogynistic standards, he seems to have sunk to a new low… The change in the laws was brought on after months of selfless demonstration by citizens striving to bring about a change in India's social outlook, by terming rape as 'just another mistake boys make, Mulayam has just rendered a slap in the face of their efforts" the website says.

While distributing free e-rickshaws at a government event in Lucknow, Yadav attempted to defend the law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh by disputing the reporting of gang rape cases. He says "It is practically impossible for four people to commit a rape." Yadav claimed that while a crime is committed by a single individual, the names of three or four others are falsely included in the complaint. He further alleged that incidents of rape were being utilized as part of a "smear campaign" aimed at tarnishing the image of the Uttar Pradesh administration. As a result of this statement—and following widespread outrage among activists and across the political spectrum— a Judicial Magistrate in Lucknow issued a summons against him in 2015.

In response to 2014 Badaun gang rape and Yadav's comments, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said "We say no to the dismissive, destructive attitude of, 'Boys will be boys. On 19 August 2015, Yadav remarked that gang-rapes are impractical and rape-victims in those cases tend to lie. He was summoned by the Judicial Magistrate of Mahoba district court in Uttar Pradesh for that remark. As a result of these statements, several media outlets described Yadav and the Samajwadi Party as "Defenders of Rape."

Phone Threat case On 10 July 2015, ex Indian Police Service officer and President Adhikar Sena, Amitabh Thakur allegedly got a phone call from Yadav. Thakur alleged that Yadav had threatened him over the phone call. He released the audio of the phone call, in which Yadav is allegedly heard saying certain sentences, which Thakur called as being threatening in nature. Thakur alleged that Mulayam Singh was unhappy about the complaint lodged by his wife activist and advocate Nutan Thakur against the then state mining minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati.

On 11 July 2015, Thakur presented a complaint before Hazratganj police station for registration of FIR against Yadav as regards the alleged phone threat, which the Police refused to register. On the contrary, in the same night of 11 July, a rape case was registered against Thakur by the Lucknow police at Gomtinagar police station, which raised political storm. Later FIR was registered in this case on Court intervention, which the Police closed but Thakur went on pursuing it before Court. The matter remained inconclusive till the end.

During Thakur's tenure as the Superintendent of Police of Ferozabad in 2006, he refused to obey some of the wrongful dictates of then MLA Ramveer Singh Yadav, who was a close aid of Yadav. The refusal led to an incidence of alleged assault and manhandling with Thakur. Despite Mulayam's orders, Thakur got a First Information Report (FIR) registered in this matter at Eka police station. This led to Thakur extensively suffering at the hands of Mulayam Singh Government.

Remarks on the Women’s Reservation Bill In March 2010, during a debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill, which proposed 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies, Yadav opposed the measure and stated that “if the bill is passed it will fill Parliament with the kind of women who invite catcalls and whistles”. The remarks were criticised by leaders across several parties and described as sexist in media reports and by some of his own party colleagues. Following the comments, Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada urged the National Commission for Women to take action.

Personal life and death Yadav was married twice. His first wife, Malti Devi, 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.

Mulayam had a relationship with Sadhana Gupta while still married to Malti Devi in the 1990s. Gupta was not well known until February 2007, when the relationship was admitted in India's Supreme Court. Sadhana Gupta had a son named Prateek Yadav who died on 13 May 2026 due to lung disease. Sadhana Gupta died in July 2022 after a brief illness.

Family tree

Mulayam Singh Yadav had four brothers and a sister, Kamla Devi. Ram Gopal Yadav and his sister Geeta Devi are his cousins. The family tree of Yadav family is as follows:

Death

In September 2022, Yadav was admitted to hospital and put on a ventilator after his condition deteriorated. He had been hospitalised for a month. Yadav died on 10 October 2022 at age 82 in a Medanta hospital in Gurgaon. His last rites were performed with full state honours at his hometown Saifai.

In popular culture Main Mulayam Singh Yadav, an Indian Hindi-language biographical film by Suvendu Raj Ghosh based on his life, was released in 2021; with Amyth Sethi playing the title role.

Electoral performance

Notable works

As Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav is credited with the establishment of legal and medical educational institutions like the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, U.P. Rural Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (now known as Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences), Government Medical College, Azamgarh, Government Medical College, Kannauj etc.

One of his celebrated and notable decisions during his tenure as the Cabinet Minister in the Union Government was the historic change in the armed forces law regarding disposition of bodies of fallen soldiers, ensuring that the mortal remains of martyrs reached home. Yadav as the Defence Minister introduced a landmark law for the bodies of the slain armed forces personnel to be brought back with full respects to the families at the home of the martyred and mandatory state honour funeral to be organised. Under his tenure, advanced inventory fighter jet of the Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30 MKI was finalised and acquired by the Indian Government.