Mulayam Singh Yadav, Veteran Politician, Dies At 82

After weeks in the hospital, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of the Samajwadi Party and three-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, passed away this morning. He was 82.

The Samajwadi Party quoted Mulayam Singh’s son Akhilesh Yadav as saying: “My respected father and everyone’s Neta-ji has died.” Mulayam Singh had been critical for days and had been on life-saving drugs at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. He was to turn 83 in six weeks.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death pains me; he was a remarkable personality and was widely admired as a humble and grounded leader,” wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the first to post his tribute. “He was a remarkable personality, widely admired as a humble and grounded leader,” he said.

Yogi Aditanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, declared a three-day state of mourning and expressed his deep sorrow.

In his final days, Mulayam Singh received numerous visits from leaders.

Though he had been away from active politics for a while, with his son Akhilesh leading the party since 2017, he was counted among prominent opposition forces in the country. For the Samajwadi Party, he remained “Neta-ji” – a term that even his son used for him. One of Uttar Pradesh’s top politicians, Mulayam Singh was also Union Defence Minister in 1996-98.

Mulayam Singh, according to PM Modi, fought for a more powerful India while serving as the country’s defence minister. The Prime Minister praised “his intelligent parliamentary contributions.”

Mulayam Singh lauded PM Modi in parliament in 2019 and expressed a desire for him to take office again following the general election. The opposing benches were in disbelief.

Mulayam Singh, who was born on November 22nd, 1939, initially served as an MLA in 1967. When Mulayam Singh was serving his second term as an MLA, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proclaimed the Emergency, sending him to prison among other opposition leaders.

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