Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of the Samajwadi Party and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, died on October 10, 2022. He was 82. Akhilesh Yadav, his son, confirmed his death.

Since August 22 Mulayam Singh Yadav had been receiving care at the Medanta Hospital, and on October 2 he was moved to the intensive care unit. It was reported on Sunday that he had become critically ill and was receiving care in the ICU from an expert group of medical professionals.

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Who is Dimple Yadav?

Dimple Yadav is an Indian politician, who has twice represented Kannauj in the Lok Sabha as a Samajwadi Party candidate. She is married to Akhilesh Yadav, the president of the Samajwadi Party and a former chief minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh. She is the daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Dimple Yadav was born in Pune, Maharashtra, on January 15, 1978. She is the daughter of Ram Chandra Singh Rawat, a retired Indian Army colonel, and Champa Rawat. Her ancestors are from Uttarakhand. She attended Army Public School on Nehru Road in Lucknow, Bathinda, Andaman and Nicobar Island, and Pune. She obtained her business degree from Lucknow University.

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She first met Akhilesh Yadav when she was still a student. Akhilesh’s family initially opposed their relationship, but eventually accepted after securing Murti Devi’s approval. The couple tied the knot on November 24, 1999, when she was only 21. Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna attended their wedding. Dimple and Akhilesh have three children – two daughters and a son.

In 2009, Yadav ran unsuccessfully against actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar in the by-election for the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat. Her husband’s triumph in both this constituency’s and Kannauj’s general elections in May 2009 and subsequent assumption of office led to the by-election.

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After Akhilesh triggered a second by-election by quitting the seat to join the Uttar Pradesh legislative council, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kannauj constituency unopposed in 2012.

Since India’s independence, Dimple became the fourth person to be elected without a challenge in Uttar Pradesh and the 44th overall. As a result, she became the second person following Purshottam Das Tandon’s election from Allahabad West in 1952 to win an uncontested Lok Sabha by-election from Uttar Pradesh.

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She became the only female member of the House whose father-in-law was also a member and whose husband held the position of the chief minister.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Dimple ran as a joint candidate of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party but fell short against Subrat Pathak of the BJP by more than 10,000 votes.