In pictures: leaders, supporters pay tribute to late SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav in UP’s Saifai village

Samajwadi Party founder and three-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away on Monday. One of the most prominent leaders of his generation, he set new rules and benchmarks for political action in UP. His passing marks the end of an era.

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   Samajwadi Party founder and three-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away on Monday. One of the most prominent leaders of his generation, he set new rules and benchmarks for political action in UP. His passing marks the end of an era.

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   Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and others near the mortal remains of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, in Saifai on Monday.

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   Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, paid tribute to Yadav in a series of tweets. “Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav Ji was a remarkable personality. He was widely admired as a humble and grounded leader who was sensitive to people’s problems. He served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising the ideals of Loknayak JP and Dr. Lohia,” he said in one of the tweets. (PTI)

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   When his sons brought his body back to his village Saifai in UP’s Etawah, hundreds of his followers had formed a queue nearly 5-km long to catch a glimpse of their “Netaji”.

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   Family members and relatives mourn near the mortal remains of the SP founder. (PTI)

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   Saifai was where Mulayam did his primary schooling and learnt wrestling — long before it became a “VIP village” and a celebrity destination with the Saifai Mahotsav when the SP was in power, and Mulayam the Chief Minister.

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   Supporters of Mulayam Singh Yadav gather on the streets Saifai.

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   According to local officials, a galaxy of political leaders from across the country are expected to arrive Tuesday when Mulayam’s body will be placed at the Saifai mela ground at 10 am for the “antim darshan” before the cremation at a ground behind a Hanuman temple nearby at 3 pm.

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   But on Monday evening, with just a night left before the final rites begin, among those patiently waiting on the lawn at the bungalow for the crowd to make way was SP leader B S Yadav to see his “college mate from 1964”. “His death has created a vacuum in the party, and in our lives,” he said.

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   People pay tribute to Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav in Saifai. (PTI)