New Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of the Samajwadi Party, was cremated today at his hometown, Saifai, in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. After struggling with sickness for quite some time, Mulayam, 82, passed away on Monday at the Medanta hospital in Gurugram.
His cremation on Tuesday at Saifai attracted a big crowd, including several government officials. Video of Abhishek Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's arrival to the Saifai was published by the news agency ANI. They were led by police officers as they stepped out of their vehicle into a sea of mourners who had come to pay their respects to the late leader.
The Bachchans and the Yadavs have been close friends for a long time. Amitabh Bachchan, who turns 80 today, was reportedly absent from Saifai. Jaya has served as a Rajya Sabha MP for the Samajwadi Party for years. For many years, Jaya has represented the Samajwadi Party in the Rajya Sabha.
Mulayam Singh Yadav was one of the most prominent leaders of Uttar Pradesh who served as the Chief Minister of the state thrice and has also served in the Union Government as the Minister of Defence. He was elected 10 times as MLA and 7 times as Lok Sabha MP.
The mortal remains of Mulayam Singh Yadav arrived at his native Saifai village on Monday, hours after the leader died at a Gurugram hospital.
Mulayam was admitted to the hospital in August, was shifted to ICU on October 2 and was on lifesaving drugs since. According to hospital sources, he breathed his last at 8.15 a.m. on Monday.