Akhilesh Yadav


Akhilesh Yadav is an Indian politician and the president of the Samajwadi Party who has served as the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017. Having assumed office on 15 March 2012 at the age of 38, he is the youngest person to have held the office. He is currently the Member of Parliament from Azamgarh in the 17th Lok Sabha. His first significant success in politics was being elected as the Member of the Lok Sabha for the Kannauj constituency. He is the son of veteran politician Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder-patron of Samajwadi Party who has served as the Minister of Defence in Government of India and three terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Early life and education

Yadav was born on 1 July 1973 in Saifai, Etawah District, Uttar Pradesh. He was born to Malti Devi and Mulayam Singh Yadav, later Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Malti Devi suffered complications while giving birth to Akhilesh which put her in a vegetative state. She died in 2003. With Mulayam Singh Yadav busy making a career in politics, Akhilesh was brought up mostly by his paternal grandparents. He completed his early education in a local school in Saifai and then one in Etawah town He was schooled at the Military School in Dholpur, Rajasthan, then obtained his Bachelor's and master's degrees in Civil Environmental Engineering at JSS Science and Technology University. He also has a master's degree in environmental engineering from the University of Sydney, Australia.

Political career

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the SP-Congress Alliance headed by Yadav won 55 seats and was defeated by the BJP. He submitted his resignation to Governor Ram Naik on 11 March.
Since Yadav became chief minister, the family was divided into two feuding groups, one siding with him and the other with his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. Yadav had the support of his father's cousin, Ram Gopal Yadav. His uncle Shivpal Yadav was supported by a friend Amar Singh and Yadav's father Mulayam Singh Yadav who later backed Akhilesh Yadav.