UP: Last rites of Mulayam Singh Yadav in his ancestral village Saifai today

Etawah (Uttar Pradesh): The final rites of Samajwadi Party patriarch and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav will take place at his ancestral village Saifai in Etawah district on Tuesday.

Mulayam Singh passed away on Monday morning at the age of 82 at Gurugram's Medanta Hospital due to age-related ailments.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital last Sunday after his health deteriorated. He is survived by two sons, Akhilesh and Prateek.

Several chief ministers along with the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Om Birla expected to attend the funeral. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel will represent the Congress at the funeral of Samajwadi Party veteran, according to sources.

Congress veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge will also participate in the funeral on Tuesday. Kharge is contesting the election of the party president, so he will not join as the party's official leader. However, it is not yet clear whether Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, will attend. Meanwhile, condolences poured in after the demise of the veteran Samajwadi Party leader and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Born on November 22, 1939, in Saifai village of Etawah district, Mulayam Singh rose quickly in politics and became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice; he also served in the Union Ggovernment once as the Defence Minister.

He was elected 10 times as MLA and 7 times as Lok Sabha MP. His career began when he was elected MLA in 1967 at the age of 28. He founded the Samajwadi Party on October 4, 1992, and soon turned it into a regional party based in Uttar Pradesh. His son Akhilesh Yadav took over the reins of the party later and is now its president.

(ANI)