Born to a farming family in Saifai village of Etawah district, Mulayam was a wrestler-turned-student leader whose personal journey as a politician was closely woven with the political history of UP, including the Mandal-Kamandal politics of the 1980s and 1990s, till he transferred the reins to his son Akhilesh Yadav in 2012.
The period of intense social and political ferment that coincided with Mulayam’s rise saw OBCs gain political ascendancy in UP, leading to the sidelining of the Congress party dominated by upper-caste leaders. India’s most populous state was then also witnessing sharp communal polarisation in the wake of the bjp s Ram temple campaign.
In a tweet paying tribute to Mulayam, Prime Minister narendra modi said he had devoted his life to popularising the ideals of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. “He was a key soldier for democracy during the Emergency,” Modi said.