Mulayam Singh Yadav: His journey and obituary

In the history of politics in Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati played a significant role in shaping it; with the bitter rivalry between both of them, they have always been a topic of discussion. Samajwadi party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who served for three non-consecutive terms as CM in UP, was mourned as a mark of respect who died after a prolonged illness on 10th October 2022. 

This article will discuss his journey, contributions and schemes launched for public welfare by his government, political rivalry and many more. Let’s get started.

Who was Mulayam Singh Yadav?

Mulayam Singh Yadav was born on November 22, 1939, in Saifai, Etawah district; he was an Indian politician and government official who founded the Samajwadi (Socialist) Party (SP) of India. He served three times as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (1989–91, 1993–95, and 2003–07). Mulayam Singh mainly rose in UP politics after the 1970s.

His Profile

Yadav’s journey from wrestler to a politician

• Mulayam Singh Yadav’s first electoral victory came in 1967 when he won a seat in the Vidhan Sabha of the Uttar Pradesh state legislative assembly. He was then re-elected in 1974. 

• Eventually, his term was intervened when he was arrested in 1975 for being among one of the opposition politicians and held for 19 months during the national state of emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. (The Emergency of 1975) 

• When the emergency ended, he was released in 1977, and he contested, & won back his seat in the assembly. In 1977 Yadav also became the President of the Lok Dal (People’s Party) in Uttar Pradesh.

• After this party split, he headed the state’s Lok Dal-B faction. In 1980 Yadav was elected as the President of the Janata Dal (also known as the People’s Party) in the state. 

• Then, he lost his bid in the Vidhan Sabha that year, but in 1982, he won a seat in the assembly’s Vidhan Parishad (Upper chamber) & served as the leader of the opposition there until 1985. And Yadav was again elected to a lower-house assembly seat in 1985, where he led the opposition in that chamber until 1987.

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Political Rivalry between Mayawati and Yadav

Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Janta Dal were successful in the 1989 elections to the Vidhan Sabha, Uttar Pradesh, and with the outside support of the BJP- the JD formed a government with Yadav as chief minister. However, the BJP government withdrew its backing or stopped supporting Yadav in 1990 following a confrontation at the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya between police and right-wing Hindus occupying the building. Yadav’s administration did last up until 1991 with help from the Congress Party until that support was also withdrawn, and then the BJP formed a government.

After all these, Yadav found a new political life post the demolition of the 16th-century mosque by Hindu right-wing activists in December 1992 due to which rioting started. He and his newly formed Samajwadi Party (SP founded in October 1992) evolved as supporters of the Muslims, who gave credits to him for helping them when the Congress in New Delhi failed to protect the mosque. 

In the 1993 assembly polling in Uttar Pradesh, the SP won enough seats to form a coalition government with BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), and the following month Yadav again became chief minister. His tenure was shorter than two years this time as the government fell after the pro-Dalit Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) left this coalition in 1995 and, with BJP’s support, BSP took over the government. This triggered a timeline of bitter political rivalry between Yadav and BSP leader Kumari Mayawati.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Contributions

I. Kanya Vidhya Dhan Yojana 

The Mulayam Singh government launched the ‘Kanya Vidhya Dhan Yojana‘ in UP, an unemployment allowance scheme or fiscal management scheme aimed at the unemployed youth in the state. A fund of Rs. 400 crores for this scheme was finalized, under which each registered graduate unemployed was eligible to get an allowance of Rs. 500 per month. This scheme was, however scrapped by the ensuing BSP government under Mayawati in 2007 but was brought back by his son, Akhilesh Yadav, in 2012. 

II. Incentives to Sugar Mills

Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest producers of sugar in India. In 2004, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s government launched a scheme that gave liberal incentives to sugar mills for 5 to 10 years to increase production in companies that invested more than Rs. 350 crores for sugar production in the state. The incentives include capital subsidies, tax exemptions, the reimbursement of; transport costs, stamp duty, registration charges and purchase taxes. Companies such as Bajaj Hindustan benefitted from this scheme.

III. Employment Generation 

Mulayam Singh Yadav was known to encourage employment generation through recruitment into UP’s police force, that is; of over 16,000 men into the state police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC). In 1995, the government announced that 3,000 more policemen would be recruited into the police force, and 4,000 would be recruited into the PAC.

IV. Kalyan Durghatna Bima Yojana

During his second tenure, Mulayam Singh Yadav introduced the Kalyan Durghatna Bima Yojana. This was a ‘Barn Accident Scheme’ aimed at giving insurance to farmers who suffered due to accidents and disasters that led to the destruction of their farms. Under this broad scheme, pension schemes, tubewell formations etc. for farmers were also launched. Under the Akhilesh Yadav government, this scheme was included in the Samajwadi Kisan Ayam Sarvhit Bima Yojana.

Conclusion

During the tenure of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) started gaining political supremacy in UP, leading to the sidelining of the Congress party dominated by upper-caste leaders. Hence, Mulayam Singh, the mass leader had a colourful character, and his consistency in the political field makes everybody numb. He has been a remarkable personality. and will always be admired as a humble and grounded leader.