At 38, he is all set to become the youngest ever chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Akhilesh Yadav was on Saturday unanimously elected leader of the Samajwadi Legislature Party, paving the way for his becoming the 32nd chief minister of UP. Immediately after his election was announced, party MPs, MLAs and MLCs gave him a standing ovation and Mr Akhilesh Yadav touched the feet of his father, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and sought his blessings.
Despite opposition from some quarters, Mr Mulayam Singh, as reported by this newspaper on Wednesday, was firm on the decision of his son taking over as the new CM of UP.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav, at present an MP from Kannauj, will be sworn in as CM on March 15.
Shortly after being elected Samajwadi Legislature Party leader, Mr Yadav drove to Raj Bhavan where he formally staked his claim to form government. He was accompanied by senior party leaders Mohammed Azam Khan and Shivpal Singh Yadav.
Mr Yadav’s name for the post of CM was proposed by veteran party leader Mohammed Azam Khan and seconded by Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav, who was Leader of the Opposition in the just-dissolved Assembly.
The young leader’s name was finally cleared around Friday midnight after his father, SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav, held hectic parleys with party elders and convinced them to accept the young leader as CM. It was only around midnight that it was known that Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s election as Samajwadi Legislature Party leader would go through without any hiccups.
Senior party leaders like Mr M. Azam Khan and Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav had been insisting on Mr Mulayam Singh’s name for the top job. These leaders felt his son’s inexperience as an administrator would prove to be a major handicap if he was made chief minister.
Moreover, Mr M. Azam Khan, sources said, had reservations about working under Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership. To ease the situation, Mr Mulayam Singh is believed to have proposed the post of Assembly Speaker for Mr Khan, an offer that Mr Khan rejected on Saturday.
Sources added that Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav had been asked to shift to national politics and vacate his Jaswantnagar seat for Akhilesh to contest byelections. He was asked to contest the Kannauj seat, which would now be vacated by Mr Akhilesh Yadav. However, Mr Shivpal Yadav has said that he would prefer to continue in state politics and work under Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership.
Mr Azam Khan told reporters that wanting Mr Mulayam Singh for CM should not be viewed as opposing Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s candidature.