Akhilesh YadavFrom infopedia the free encyclopedia

Member of Parliament (2000–2012)

In 2000 Akhilesh Yadav won a by-election from Kannauj after his father vacated the seat, and entered the 13th Lok Sabha. He was re-elected from Kannauj in 2004 and 2009, and served on parliamentary committees on environment, science and technology, and urban development.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (2012–2017)

He led the SP's campaign in the 2012 assembly election, in which the party won a clear majority. On 15 March 2012, aged 38, he became the youngest Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He resigned his Lok Sabha seat and became a member of the Legislative Council. His government's flagship projects included the Agra–Lucknow Expressway, the Lucknow Metro and laptop distribution to students. He became the SP's national president in January 2017. The SP–Congress alliance he led lost the 2017 assembly election to the BJP.

Opposition years (2017–2024)

• 2019: Elected to the Lok Sabha from Azamgarh.
• 2022: Won the Karhal assembly seat and became Leader of the Opposition in the UP Legislative Assembly, after the SP finished second in the state election.

2024 Lok Sabha election

Campaigning on a "PDA" (Pichde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak, meaning backward classes, Dalits and minorities) platform in alliance with Congress, the SP won 37 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the BJP's 33. Akhilesh won Kannauj by about 1.7 lakh votes, resigned his Karhal assembly seat, and became the SP's leader in the 18th Lok Sabha.

2026

With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly election approaching, Akhilesh has focused the SP's campaign on the state. In October 2026 he attended a religious katha in Ayodhya. The party has said he and Dimple Yadav will visit the Ram Temple in December 2026.