The passing of Mulayam Singh Yadav, mascot of Mandal politics, marks the end of an era in Uttar Pradesh where he strode like a colossus across the state’s political stage in a career spanning over five decades. Trained as a wrestler, Mulayam Singh chose the political dangal as his stage where he set new rules and dominated the game. While his political career had its share of setbacks and successes, the three-time Chief Minister will be remembered for bravely stalling the Hindutva wave in the Hindi heartland.
What set Mulayam Singh apart from other politicians was his ability to bring social coalitions together, ending the domination of the upper castes in power politics, giving voice to the marginalised and empowering the backward classes. The politics of Uttar Pradesh will never be the same without him as the Samajwadi Party has lost its patriarch. But can his son Akhilesh Yadav consolidate Netaji's legacy? And what are the challenges before the party and the Yadav family?
Akhilesh Yadav is also a shrewd politician and has tried to make himself relevant to 21st century needs. Perhaps that's the reason he brought in changes to the original Samajwadi model which was based on hard-core Lohiaite principles. He has given a new turn to Socialist politics by adding a visible and mandatory dash of Dr BR Ambedkar and bringing in the unassailable presence of youth demolishing the perception of an ageing party structure. Netaji's SP, which spoke of social justice and the Muslim-Yadav combination, has been transformed to a large extent. Akhilesh Yadav has tried to pull the S.P. chariot with his innovations, but that was with the support of Brand Mulayam. Without him, there will be a psychological vacuum, as the patriarch’s shield is no more.
Sources in the Samajwadi Party say Mr Yadav will have to change his style of working and be more active on the ground, available to the people like Netaji, a 24x7 politician, was. Leaders close to the ground say Mr Yadav has failed to take a hard stand on backward and Dalit politics and this is where questions will be asked of him, especially after his father's demise. The eyes of the Samajwadi Party are on the Dalit votes. Party leader Abdul Hafiz Gandhi says the S.P. formed an Ambedkar Vahini to work with dalits and win their trust. According to him, the most important task for Mr Yadav is to constitute district and state committees ahead of the urban local body elections expected in the last quarter of 2022.
"Like Netaji's Halla Bol, Akhilesh Yadav should mobilise the masses on the issues of fuel prices, fee hike and agrarian distress," says Mr Gandhi. So far Mr Yadav's presence on the roads has been minimal. Many believe that without taking up public issues, returning to power in Uttar Pradesh would remain a dream for the party.
At Mulayam Singh’s condolence meeting, people spoke of how he had a battery of leaders around him like Janeshwar Mishra, Bhagwati Singh, Beni Prasad Verma, Mohan Singh, Reoti Raman Singh and Azam Khan and suggested that a similar line of leadership be nurtured by his son. This has been one of the failures of Mr Yadav and a big reason for his party slowing down with allegations that it is a family fief. The sea of people seen at Mulayam Singh’s funeral procession speaks of the boundless cult Netaji had cultivated. This emanates from his work. If Akhilesh Yadav wants to consolidate this legacy, he will have to pick up this knack.
Mulayam Singh often turned to his now guru Uday Pratap Singh, now 92. Whether Akhilesh Yadav will go back to the drawing board and take lessons from the nonagenarian is something everyone will watch keenly. Leaders close to Mr Yadav say the Samajwadi Party plans to take the legacy and memories of Netaji door to door through yatras and road shows conveying why the party is still important for U.P. and the nation, on the lines of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's Odarpu yatra after he lost his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
So far the S.P. cadre has been committed to the party, so much so that they have never made Mr Yadav feel he is a leader who has been vanquished by the BJP’s saffron politics. Sources within the S.P. say Mr Yadav still acts like a Chief Minister. This is his strength as well as weakness, but this commitment of the cadre could dissipate if he fails to take a vocal stand on issues or to mingle with people like Netaji did.
Mr Yadav’s immediate political challenge now is to retain their bastion Mainpuri, Lok Sabha constituency of Mulayam Singh, which is now vacant and will be going to the by-polls within six months. Who will contest from Mainpuri is the question that could be seen as an offshoot of the extended feud brewing within the Yadav clan. Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam Singh's younger brother who formed the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party, is in the reckoning. Will Akhilesh Yadav approve of his name or will his wife Dimple contest?
Though Akhilesh, Ramgopal Yadav and Shivpal have been seen together at the mourning, the real challenge begins now. Shivpal, a confidant of Mulayam Singh, has kept quiet all this while, respecting the sentiments of Netaji, but could flex his muscles now within the family and politically. There have been rumours in the past that he could join the BJP. If Shivpal Yadav contests in Mainpuri against Akhilesh's wife, it could spell trouble for the S.P. boss as the message would be that he is unable to hold the family together. The family till now has never spoken against each other, but with Netaji no longer around this hesitation may crumble, leading to further disintegration and isolation of the Samajwadi clan. Mulayam Singh was a unifying force. Can Akhilesh step into his shoes?
Neelu Vyas is a senior television anchor and consulting editor with Satya Hindi
