Who Was Harmohan Singh Yadav, And Is The BJP Now Working On The Next Level Of Its Political Plan For UP?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the 10th death anniversary event of the late Samajwadi Party leader Harmohan Singh Yadav through video conferencing today (25 July) at 4:30 pm.

Yadav was a towering leader in the Samajwadi Party (SP) and a long-time associate of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Both leaders were in Chaudhary Charan Singh's Lok Dal but had some conflicts when Mulayam Singh led the split in the party over Ajit Singh's takeover.

However, they soon came together, and when Mulayam Singh became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989, Harmohan Singh was called the mini CM as the former was never reported to have declined the latter's suggestions.

Harmohan Singh's stature in politics kept increasing and so did the relations between both families. It was said that much of SP's political strategy and cabinet berths used to be decided at Harmohan Singh's house.

He was sent to Rajya Sabha twice and his tenure ended in 2003 when he had already crossed the age of 80. However, he was actively involved in SP till his death in 2012.

After his death, the then CM of UP, Akhilesh Yadav visited his native village Meherban Singh ka Purva and promised that the relations between the two families will never turn sour; however, it doesn't seem to have played out that way.

Harmohan brought both his sons, Sukhram Singh Yadav and Jagram Singh Yadav into politics through SP. However, Sukhram is drifting closer to the BJP, while Jagram is believed to be still dedicated to SP.

Reportedly, Sukhram Singh is upset with Akhilesh Yadav because he was not given time by the SP president. His son Mohit Yadav had already joined BJP earlier this year before the assembly elections.

However, at that time, Sukhram Singh claimed to remain attached to SP. He is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha but his tenure is ending in July. He may join BJP after today's event.

It should be noted that in October last year, Sukhram Singh had invited CM Yogi Adityanath and UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, instead of Akhilesh Yadav, to his father's 100th-anniversary event.

Swatantra Dev Singh had earlier said that Sukhram Singh's family is now a part of the BJP. Sukhram Singh had also met CM Adityanath in April this year which further fuelled speculations of him joining the BJP.

Sukhram Singh is the vice-president of All India Yadav Mahasabha and is said to have a good hold over the Yadav community, especially in the Kanpur region. There are certain seats where BJP can win only if it dents into SP's vote bank. Singh can be helpful to the BJP in garnering Yadav votes.

On a different note, Harmohan Singh was awarded Shaurya Chakra for saving Sikhs during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. With the Modi government's outreach to Sikhs, this can be seen as a supportive gesture.

The SP-led alliance is seen as falling apart with its allies like Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party and Suheldev Bharatiya Samajwadi Party distancing themselves from it, especially after the loss in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha by-polls.

The departure of Sukhram Singh will be another jolt to the party which is based on the Muslim-Yadav vote bank.

However, this won't be a 'first' for the Samajwadi Party as many old stalwarts that were connected to SP due to Mulayam Singh have aired their disaffection with the current SP leadership.