Key Points
For the Netaji that the young man is referring to is Mulayam Singh Yadav; the man who built a political party that became a political behemoth in Indias most populous and politically crucial state; a man who rose to be chief minister of Uttar Pradesh five times and one who left a legacy so strong that his son became chief minister before he turned 40..
Implicit in the battle for his legacy are two deeper contests one that regional parties, which once ruled the heartland on the power of their own caste groups, are facing in holding on to their social coalitions in the face of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) onslaught; and two, a more emotional tussle that is playing out among the dominant Yadav community that is caught between its traditional home, the Samajwadi Party, and the national hegemon that is bent on cleaving that vote bloc..
In 1996, he contested the Lok Sabha polls from Mainpuri, and established that as an SP bastion, his party winning every election since then. . In the December 2022 bypoll that was necessitated by his death, Dimple Yadav, Mulayams daughter-in-law and Akhileshs wife, contested the seat and won..
They point to Saifai and Mainpuris prestige; the 302 kilometre Agra-Lucknow Expressway that looms in the distance; the 1997 and 2015 Saifai Mahotsavs that brought to the erstwhile dusty village a galaxy of Bollywood stars; February 2015, when Mulayams camaraderie across the political spectrum was in full evidence, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was an attendee at the wedding of Yadavs grandnephew Tej Pratap Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadavs daughter Rajlaxmi Yadav..
To underline this push, the party has highlighted the fact that a Yadav is now chief minister of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, and chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union home minister Amit Shah are addressing multiple rallies in an area where once every Lok Sabha election was considered a virtual walkover for the SP..
