Samajwadi Party becomes the largest political family in UP

Lucknow, Jan 13: Mulayam Singh-led Samajwadi Party has become the largest political family in the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh with three more members from the family entering the political realm.

The latest political entrants from the Yadav family are Mulayam's nephew Abhishek Yadav alias Anshul, niece Sandhya Yadav and another relative Vandana Yadav, who have been elected in the recently concluded panchayat polls.

While Abhishek has been elected as the Chairman of Etawah Zila Panchayat body, Yadav's niece Sandhya is the Chairman of Mainpuri Zila Panchayat. Vandana Yadav, on the other hand, has been elected as Chairman of Hamirpur Zila Panchayat.

With this, the total number of elected representatives from the SP chief's family has gone up to 11. Abhishek Yadav is the son of Mulayam's brother Abhay Ram Yadav while Sandhya is the party supremo's niece and sister of Badaun MP Dharmendra Yadav. Both were elected unopposed.

The third member to enter politics is Vandana Yadav, the sister-in-law of Badaun MP Dharmendra Yadav. Interestingly, Mulayam has been opposing nepotism and feudalism in politics.

Earlier Mridula Yadav, mother of Mulayam's nephew and Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Yadav as well as Ajant Singh Yadav, brother-in-law of Mulayam, got elected as members of Block Development Council from Saifai and Chaubiya respectively.

Mridula and Ajant Singh are further expected to be elected as Chairpersons of the Block Development Councils, which are yet to take place. While Mulayam himself is an MP from Azamgarh, his son Akhilesh Yadav is an MLC and the Chief Minister of UP.

Akhilesh's wife Dimple is a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj. Mulayam's nephew Dharmendra Yadav is an MP from Badaun, while his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav is a Rajya Sabha MP. Ram Gopal Yadav's son Akshay Pratap is an MP from Firozabad.

The SP supremo's younger brother Shivpal Yadav is an MLA and a senior minister in the UP government holding important portfolios like PWD, Irrigation and Cooperatives. The youngest member of the family Tej Pratap Yadav is an MP from Mainpuri. Tej Pratap is married to Bihar RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rajlaxmi.

PTI