B'day spl: Know Mulayam Singh's compulsions behind supporting UPA govt

New Delhi, Sep 27: Mulayam Singh Yadav can be easily termed as the shrewdest but pragmatic socialist politician of India. He swears in the name of maverick Ram Manohar Lohiya, who spent his entire life opposing Congress, but has unabashedly emerged as the savior of the Congress led governments in recent times.What is it that makes Mulayam bail out the UPA govt every time it hits roadblocks? His opponents point out that he has become a victim of his own misdeeds including financial irregularities and improprieties committed during the days when he was at the helm of affairs in India's largest state Uttar Pradesh. According to his critics, CBI has got enough evidence against him to nail him down in a court of law and that the UPA govt is using CBI as a bulwark against Mulayam. Is it really the fear of CBI only which is forcing Mulayam to rescue the UPA govt time again? The answer is a big NO.There could be merit in the argument that since Mulayam is facing a number of cases and CBI can make things difficult for him but Mulayam has other valid reasons for not being seen as a person who was standing at the sidelines when Manmohan Singh led government was dethroned by an opposition which was led by BJP.Let's understand the entire gamut of Mulayam Singh's politics. He started off as a socialist politician but very soon he converted himself into a champion of OBC politics, primarily the politics of dominant Yadavas of UP. The Ayodhya movement of BJP provided him with an opportunity to emerge as the savior of Muslims, who are a significant player in UP politics. Mulayam lost no time in grabbing this golden opportunity with both hands. He ordered firing on Rampant Karsevakas who were marching towards the disputed Babri structure which resulted in killing of many karsevakas. This one act of Mulayam established him as the champion of Muslim vote-bank in UP who started looking at him as the messiah who would save them from Hindu fanatics. From here onwards, Muslim vote-bank politics became the cornerstone of Mulayam's political journey. In the aftermath of BJP's aggressive Hindutva politics, the Hindu-Muslim polarization became the hallmark of UP politics. Demolition of Babri structure and subsequent polarization saw the spectacular victory of BJP in UP elections. BJP's Hindutva politics laced with social engineering under the leadership of formidable OBC leader Kalyan Singh proved to a deadly combination and parties like Mulayam's SP and Mayawati's BSP were left far behind in terms of popular support. Both Mulayam and Mayawati understood this reality very well and joined hands to challenge BJP's supremacy and even succeeded. But they fell out later on and chose separate paths.Mulayam played crucial roles at centre as well. He served as defence minister of the country during National Front government. He would have become the Prime Minister of india in place of I K Gujaral after Congress withdrew support to Deve Gowda government. He had the backing of the then all powerful CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet. He even defeated the other PM candidate G K Moopnar, the then Tamil Manila Congress supremo, by a comfortable margin of 120-20. But the destiny did not favour him at that time as his powerful Yadav friends Sharad yadav and Lalu Prasad joined hands against him and encouraged TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu to oppose his candidature. Mulayam lost the opportunity as I K Gujaral emerged as the consensus candidate.After Mayawati returned to power on her own in UP, Mulayam started feeling the heat and was forced to seek the help of Congress to thwart Mayawati's attempts to put him in the dock. On the one hand he was facing a hostile state government led by Mayawati while on the other hand the CBI was controlled by Congress. That was a defining moment for Mulayam as he felt caught between devil and deep sea. He finally decided to align himself clearly with congress. Mulayam took the decision out of compulsion but it became necessity as well. And the necessity emerged from the same Muslim vote-bank compulsion. As the entire politics of Mulayam Singh yadav depends on Muslim-Yadav combination, he can't afford to be seen as someone who did not do anything to stop the collapse of a supposedly ‘secular' government. Therefore, it's not only the CBI which is behind Mulayam's reluctance to let UPA meet untimely death. It's the fear of losing the crucial Muslim votes in UP which has equally tied the hands of Mulayam Singh.The next question which will come up automatically is that if Muslim vote-bank is one of the reasons then why did he support Indo-US nuclear deal which could jeopardize his well-crafted equation with the Muslim community. The mystery is not very difficult to decipher. Mulayam knows it well that Indian Muslims are more concerned with their day to day problems like any other community and that they are not going to change their horses because of any pro or anti US feelings.There is another reason as well. Mulayam has never hidden his Prime Ministerial ambitions. Very recently, he confessed that he is not a saint. And the politician within Mulayam fully understands the fact that if his dreams has to come true ever, it has to be with Congress support only. Mulayam, as media reports suggest, is working behind the scenes to prop up a non-Congress, non-BJP alternative as 2014 is going to be a ‘now-or-never' scenario for him as far as his Prime ministerial ambition is concerned.Early Life and political journey:Mulayam Singh was born to Murti Devi and Sughar Singh on 22 November 1939 in a farmer family of saifai village in Etawah district of UP. Mulayam has got impressive educational degrees as well. He has got B.A. and B.T. degrees in addition to a Master's degree in Political Science. Mulayam started his first job as a teacher with Jain Inter College, Karhal.Mulayam's family consisted of his parents, five brothers (Including Mulayam) and one sister. His father wanted him to be a wrestler and Mulayam did not let his father down. In 1962, once when Mulayam was displaying his skills in the wrestling ring, a local powerful politician named Natthu Singh spotted him and was impressed with his prowess. Natthu Singh baptized Mulayam into politics and groomed him for Jaswant Nagar seat from where Mulayam fought his first electoral battle.Mulayam first became state minister in 1977 and became the president of Lokdal in 1980 that became a part of the Janata Dal (People's Party) later on. In 1982, Yadav was elected leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh legislative council.Ram Manohar Lohia was political guru of Mulayam singh Yadav. Mulayam was a camp follower of Raj Narain, who defeated Indira Gandhi from Rae bareli Parliamentary constituency in 1977. Chaudhary Charan Singh was another person who Mulayam admired immensely. On October 7, 1992, Yadav founded his own political party named Samajwadi Party. Defining moment of career:Mulayam's defining moment of his political career arrived when he was appointed the Chief Minister of UP in 1989 for the first time. His political career never looked back. He served as the Chief Minister of UP three times from 1989–1991; 1993–1995; 2003–2007.Mulayam also had a very successful stint as Union Defence Minister from 1996-98 when United Front govt was in power at centre.In the assembly elections of March 2012, Mulayam's Samajwadi Party under the leadership of his son Akhilesh yadav dethroned Mayawati government in UP and clinched spectacular victory with two thirds majority in the assembly.Mulayam has handed over the baton of the government and the party to his son and is trying to somehow cobble up a third alternative which could fulfill his Prime Ministerial aspirations in 2014 general elections.