The Mulayam Singh Political Family Just Grew Bigger. 18 at Last Count

Lucknow: Mulayam Singh Yadav now presides over what could well stake claim to being the largest political family in a single party; five members joined politics this month to take the grand total to 18.

Unlike many other political families, this one stays together - all 18 are in the Samajwadi Party founded and controlled by Mulayam Singh, 75.

Among the five Yadav debutants - all of whom contested the recent panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh - is Mulayam's nephew Anshul Yadav, 25, who decided that his MBA degree is best put to use in politics.

"The opposition accuses us of family-dominated politics, but the people of Etawah will give them a fitting answer in the upcoming elections,' said Mr Anshul who contested the Panchayat elections from Safai.

Etawah is Mulayam land - he belongs to Saifai village in the Uttar Pradesh district. Mr Anshul's mother, Premlata Yadav, is the president of the Etawah District Panchayat.

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In the national election last year, when the Bharatiya Janata Party swept Uttar Pradesh, the only seats it did not win were those contested by members of the state's two powerful families, the Congress's Gandhis and the Samajwadi Party's Yadavs.

Five Samajwadi Party candidates were elected to the Lok Sabha, including Mulayam Singh Yadav. The others were his daughter-in-law Dimple, nephews Akshay Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav and grandson Tej Pratap Yadav, who is married to the daughter of Bihar politician Lalu Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

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Mulayam Singh Yadav was the first politician in the Yadav family and he remains Samajwadi Party's national President for the next three years. He has been the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice, an MP six times and has served as the union defence minister.

His son Akhilesh Yadav is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Mulayam's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav and brother Shivpal Yadav are prominent leaders of the Samajwadi Party.