Shivpal Yadav
Often called Hanuman, he is revered as well as feared by all
His trademark smile not withstanding, Shivpal Yadav, the younger brother of Mulayam, has a low threshold for nonsense. While his amiable nature helps him maintain excellent relations with friends and foes, he is revered as well as feared by those who know him well. A shrewd politician with a keen eye on all that’s happening around him, 61-year-old Shivpal is fiercely loyal to his elder brother and is often called Hanuman — he will never defy or distance himself from Mulayam Singh.
“I have been working with Netaji (as he calls Mulayam) since I was 13 or 14. I would accompany him to all political meetings and observed all that was happening around. In his absence, I would try to drape his dhotis,” he once said.
Shivpal has played a key role in building up the Samajwadi Party and has enviable organisational skills. Mulayam Singh trusts his brother completely in party matters and choosing the right people for the right job.
It was Shivpal who took Akhilesh under his wings when the latter left Etawah for schooling. Shivpal gave Akhilesh his initial training in politics and family sources claim that Akhilesh shared a better relationship with Shivpal because he could never get close to his father who was always busy in politics.
However, a well meaning advice given by Shivpal to Mulayam in 2012 soured his relationship with Akhilesh.
Apparently, at a meeting convened after the Samajwadi Party won the Assembly polls with a comfortable majority, it was proposed that Akhilesh be made the chief minister. All leaders spoke in favour of Akhilesh but Shivpal suggested that Mulayam should become CM and make Akhilesh his deputy CM.
“Shivpal wanted Mulayam to equal Mayawati’s record of being CM four times. Besides, he suggested that as deputy chief minister, Akhilesh could gain some administrative experience and Mulayam could hand over the reins after six months to his son. This was conveyed to Akhilesh by some family members who believed that his uncle had opposed him. This was the beginning of deterioration in their relationship,” said a senior party leader.
During the recent crisis in the party, Shivpal has been named as the “main villain and conspirator” but he has shown utmost restrain.
Whether it was his sacking from ministry or the manner in which he was insulted at a public function by Akhilesh loyalists, he has remained silent because he did not wish to upset his elder brother. A leader close to Shivpal explains, “It is his implicit faith and regard for Mulayam that has made him suffer so much during the past three months. He simply carried out Netaji’s instructions but was blamed for taking decisions on his own. The Qaumi Ekta Dal merger and the expulsion of Akhilesh loyalists were done at the behest of Mulayam Singh but Shivpal bore the blame quietly”.
Mulayam Singh, however, has repeatedly appreciated Shivpal’s contribution to the party and the government in public and reiterated his faith in his brother.
Shivpal Yadav’s son Aditya Yadav is also a complete antithesis of his more boisterous cousins. Though he has been seen standing quietly behind his father during the recent moments of crisis that include his dismissal from the government, he has not uttered a word on the developments.
