New Delhi:
In a politically entrenched family that has stayed in the limelight for several decades – willingly and unwillingly, at times – Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son Prateek Yadav shied from it, only to be shoved back into public attention for reasons not of his making.
Born to party worker Sadhna Gupta in 1988 from a secret relationship with the Samajwadi Party (SP) founder, Prateek Yadav was thought to be the son of her first husband Chandraprakash Gupta. His school records did not mention his father’s name.
Life took a U-turn for him when Mulayam Singh Yadav’s first wife Malti Devi, mother of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, died in 2003. The SP patriarch made his relationship with Sadhna and Prateek Yadav known. Chatter followed, discussing not just a relationship that remained secret for over a decade but also the succession within one of Uttar Pradesh’s most influential families.
Informally, two camps formed within the SP – one that favoured Akhilesh Yadav and his closer links to the family’s first line and the other supporting Sadhna, seen as having influence over Mulayam Singh Yadav. The division made Prateek Yadav a part of a larger power struggle between the SP chief’s brother Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav.
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Prateek Yadav though showed no interest in politics and chose to pursue his passion for fitness, while also remaining involved in his real estate business.
A fresh push to launch him into politics came in November 2012, when a group of Samajwadi Party workers demanded that Prateek Yadav be given a ticket to contest from Azamgarh for the 2014 general election. His mother and Shivpal Yadav also pushed for him being sent into the electoral field, but it did not materialise.
In 2016, media reports cemented claims of Prateek Yadav’s real parentage when Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) documents pertaining to a disproportionate assets case reached the Supreme Court. This again sparked debate about political succession, but Prateek Yadav’s stance towards politics remained the same.
Prateek Yadav went on to marry Aparna Bisht in 2011 in a grand ceremony after eight years of courtship. She told a British newspaper that she had fallen for him when she was in Class 10.
When Mulayam Singh Yadav died in October 2022 at the age of 82, the transition was obvious and smooth as Akhilesh Yadav took over the party’s reins.
Familial discord returned to his life when Aparna Bisht jumped from the SP to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2022, becoming a vocal critic of the party. She said she was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s women-centric policies. In September 2024, she was appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women by the BJP government.
Both Prateek Yadav’s mother and wife were blamed for widening the political rift within the party, with Sadhna being accused of influencing Mulayam Singh Yadav against Shivpal Yadav.
On January 19 this year, Prateek Yadav took to Instagram to accuse her of ruining family relations and harming his mental health. “I am going to divorce this selfish woman as soon as possible. She ruined my family ties. All she wants to become is famous and influential,” Prateek wrote in one of his Instagram posts. On January 28, he announced reconciliation with his wife.
Though their worlds remained largely detached, Akhilesh Yadav was among the earliest to offer tributes when Prateek Yadav was pronounced dead at the age of 38 years in Lucknow on Wednesday. “The demise of Prateek Yadav is extremely heartbreaking! May God grant peace to the departed soul. Humble tribute!” the Samajwadi Party chief said in a brief post on X.
