Master of 'dhobi paat', mercurial Mulayam remains riddle in Indian politics

Lucknow: Search how much you may but it will be difficult to find a contemporary politician who has been so true to character and yet so unpredictable than Mulayam Singh Yadav. The three-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who epitomised the rise of the OBC clout in Indian polity in the 70s-80s, has undoubtedly carved a space for himself. As his Samajwadi Party announced its exit from the so-called anti-Bharatiya Janata Party grand alliance in Bihar on 3 September, not many in Uttar Pradesh were surprised at this volte-face by this wily politician from Etawah, the erstwhile badlands once known for its ravines and dacoits. Mulayam has been known for several instances in the past when he initially offered support or a solution, and then suddenly backtracked, leaving the prospective beneficiary or the ally stumped. To top it all, he has never been known for hiding his ambition, be it heading a government, backing another leader in his interest or manipulating a coalition where he is the ultimate beneficiary. [caption id=“attachment_2421736” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. PTI[/caption] Having been a wrestler of some repute in his younger days, Mulayam is said to adept in a typical wrestling move, referred to as dhobi paat, in which the opponent is so badly pinned down that it is difficult for him to get up and recover. His political behaviour often reflects this manoeuvring. It is perhaps for this reason that not many politicians trust him, chiefly those from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Left parties or the Congress. In the Bihar volte face, his Samajwadi Party is on the strongest footing since its government in Uttar Pradesh has about 18 months to go. The five Samajwadi Party members will be in Lok Sabha till 2019. Then the Samajwadi Party had little to lose after exiting the alliance in Bihar. By doing so, Mulayam has further strengthened his anti-Congress image since it is the political requirement in Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to 2017 Assembly election. His party’s presence at the Patna rally which Congress president Sonia Gandhi also attended was considered to have dented this image, which Mulayam has assiduously cultivated. This is something he learnt from his mentors Ram Manohar Lohia and Charan Singh. Mulayam has headed the government in Lucknow thrice: 5 December 1989 to 24 June 1991; 4 December 1993 to 3 June 1995 and 29 August 2003 to 12 May 2007. He had first been elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1967 as a candidate of Lohia’s Sanyukt Socialist Party (SSP). But after Lohia’s death, he joined Charan Singh’s Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) and subsequently the SSP and BKP merged to form the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD). However, Mulayam considered himself to be the true successor to Charan Singh, and refused to accept the leadership of the latter’s son Ajit Singh. The BLD collapsed soon after, and Ajit Singh never really came up as a successful politician ever after. Mulayam also cites Chandra Shekhar as one of his mentors, but in 1989, when efforts were on to form a Janata Dal government at the Centre, Mulayam ditched Chandra Shekhar and went along with Devi Lal to ensure VP Singh’s ascension, leaving Chandra Shekhar high and dry. In the aftermath of the Ayodhya shrine demolition and subsequent anti-BJP sentiment, he joined forces with the Bahujan Samaj Party mainly owing to some workable equation with BSP founder Kanshi Ram. An unprecedented SP-BSP coalition government was formed in 1993 with Mulayam as chief minister. But in June 1995, the coalition collapsed over allegations of poaching and worse. The parting of ways with BSP was bitter and this chasm has remained unbridged so far. Mulayam’s on and off support to the UPA and the Congress has been well-known, despite his professed anti-Congress image. In 2008, Mulayam ditched Left parties whom he once described as his “logical allies”, when it came to the survival of the Manmohan Singh government on the issue of nuclear deal with the US. Mulayam first sided with the Left parties against the deal, but later, owing to some deft manipulation by his then confidant Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party saved the day for the UPA government. The Left parties have since then been very wary of Mulayam. In 2007, his manoeuvring also stunned Trinamool Congresss chief Mamata Banerjee when the latter, in a joint announcement with Mulayam, favoured APJ Abdul Kalam’s candidature as the president of India. However, two days later he swung in the Congress-supported candidate Pranab Mukherjee’s favour, leaving the West Bengal chief minister in the cold. Among the leaders who once were very close to Mulayam but now are strongly with the Congress is Beni Prasad Verma, who was among the co-founders of the Samajwadi Party. However, differences between them occurred over ticket distribution in 2009. Similar has been the case of Mohammad Azam Khan, another founder leader of the Samajwadi Party, who left the party after Kalyan Singh’s short-lived stint in the party and the rising clout of Amar Singh. However, Mulayam managed to bring Azam back, whereas he never looked back at Beni Prasad Verma. The 66-year old Mulayam is still best remembered for his unprecedented crackdown on kar sewaks in Ayodhya in 1989 and 1990, during his stint as chief minister. His action earned the gratitude of the Muslim community, but the Akhilesh government’s response to the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar in 2013 made many in the community drift away, with the allegations that the government did not do enough to either stop the riots or provide relief to the victims. Another recurrent example of his unpredictable behaviour is the manner in which he has been criticising the performance of his chief minister son Akhilesh Yadav’s government since it took office in March 2012. Often the criticism has been made in public meetings, unsettling those present. But then Mulayam also appeals to the people not to punish him for the misdeeds of his party’s government. This also contrasts with his strong likes and dislikes and his over-protective attitude towards his clan and friends. The protection to some notorious characters in the past is as famous as his insistence to avenge the defeat of Akhilesh’s wife Dimple from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in 2009, by ensuring an unprecedented unopposed win for her in 2012.