Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav died on Monday at a hospital in Gurugram after prolonged illness.
“Mere adarniya pitaji aur sabke netaji nahi rahe – Akhilesh Yadav,” the SP tweeted from its Twitter handle.
The 82-year-old was admitted to a hospital since August and was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Gurugram-based Medanta Hospital on October 2.
Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Yadav was a remarkable personality and was widely admired as a grounded leader.
“Mulayam Singh Yadav served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising ideals of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia,” he said in a tweet.
Yadav distinguished himself in Uttar Pradesh and national politics and was a key soldier for democracy during Emergency, he said.
As defence minister, Yadav worked for a stronger India and his Parliamentary interventions were insightful, Modi added.
Yadav served as defence minister and as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice.
Born on November 22, 1939 into a farming family in Saifai near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav spawned the state’s most prominent political clan.
He was elected an MLA 10 times and an MP, mostly from Mainpuri and Azamgarh, seven times.
