Mulayam Singh Yadav: Wily, politically astute and a man of the masses, Mulayam Singh Yadav stamped his style of leadership in both Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre. A seven time MP and 10-time MLA, his brand of politics was much appreciated by the common people as well as the political leadership.
His wrestling skills helped him reach the top where he had the ability to endear himself to his adversaries even when he used his ‘dao pench’ to score over them. Fondly called Netaji, even the media ate out of his hands. He had this uncanny ability to not make enemies and was able to take people along with him in whatever he did.
Socialist ideology
A staunch Lohiaite, he emerged on the political firmament as a fallout of the JP movement where he played an important role in promoting socialist ideology.
Choosing to follow another socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra as his mentor, his brand of socialism was that of a secularist who believed in a welfare state. He made his mark as a national figure during the Ramjanmabhoomi Ayodhya movement where he took the harsh step of ordering the firing on the karsevaks in 1991. Soon he came to be known as Mullah Mulayam and had a huge political fallout on his career. He had to realign his alliances and in 1996 he missed being the prime minister by a whisker as he had to concede space to IK Gujaral, something which he regretted till the autumn of his life.
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Despite being a Yadav leader (OBC) of great prominence, he refused to join hands with his Bihar counterpart Lalu Yadav and political analysts say this could have cost him his political goals. The three-time chief minister of UP, managed to hold on to his caste base of Muslims and Yadavs (called the MY factor) and no political outfit could think of making inroads into his UP bastion.
The gentle giant from Etawah became a force to reckon with by the turn of the century.
Maya jaal
Mulayam’s brand of politics touched an all-time low when he got embroiled in a running feud with his bête noir Mayawati. What has come to be known as the VIP guesthouse controversy, his henchmen reportedly engaged in a scuffle with her and kept her under forced house arrest during a race to the chief ministership.
His rise as the defence minister in the United Front coalition government and later the foisting of his son Akhilesh Yadav ensured he had a legacy to boast of.
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