Dimple Yadav

Early life and education

Dimple Yadav was born on 15 January 1978 in Pune, Maharashtra. She is the second of three daughters of retired Indian Army Col. Ram Chandra Singh Rawat and Champa Rawat. Her family is originally from Uttarakhand. She was educated in Pune, Bathinda and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Her formal education took place in Army Public School, Nehru Road, Lucknow. She graduated in commerce from Lucknow University.

Personal life

Dimple Rawat met Akhilesh Yadav when she was a student. Originally, Yadav's family was opposed to their marriage, but they agreed after his grandmother, Murti Devi approved. The couple got married on 24 November 1999 when she was 21. Guests at their wedding included movie stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. The couple have two daughters - Aditi Yadav and Tina Yadav and a son Arjun Yadav.

Political career

Yadav unsuccessfully contested the by-election for the Lok Sabha constituency of Firozabad in 2009 against actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar. The by-election was triggered by her husband, who had won two seats in the May 2009 General Elections, in both Firozabad and Kannauj, opting to retain the Kannauj seat. She was elected unopposed from the Kannauj constituency to the Lok Sabha in 2012, after her husband caused another by-election by vacating the seat to enter the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

Yadav became the 44th person in the country and only the fourth in Uttar Pradesh since the Independence of India to be elected unopposed. This situation arose when two candidates, Dashrath Singh Shankwar (Samyukt Samajwadi Dal) and Sanju Katiyar (Independent), withdrew their nominations. Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress had not nominated any candidates for the by-election; though the BJP clarified later that their candidate missed his train so he failed to reach in time to file his nomination.

This made her the first woman from Uttar Pradesh to get elected unopposed in a Lok Sabha by-election, and second person after Purshottam Das Tandon's election from Allahabad West in 1952. She became the only woman MP whose husband was Chief Minister, and also one whose father-in-law was also a member of the same House.

Yadav retained Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in 2014 Indian General Election by defeating the nearest rival by 19,907 votes. In 2019 Indian General Election, she contested as a joint candidate of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, but lost to BJP's Subrat Pathak with a margin of more than 10,000 votes.

After the death of her father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav, Dimple Yadav was fielded from the vacant Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency seat, which she won by defeating BJP's candidate with over 2.8 lakh votes.

In 2024, Dimple Yadav retained Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat which she won with a margin victory of 2,21,639 votes, defeating the BJP's Jayveer Singh. Dimple won by securing 5,98,526 votes, while Jayveer Singh, managed 3,76,887 votes. The seat has been with the Samajwadi Party since 1996 and its journey of victories is marked by a series of electoral wins.

References

References

1. (4 June 2024). "Lok Sabha Election 2024 Results LIVE: Dimple Yadav Wins From Mainpuri Lok Sabha Seat". [[NDTV]].
2. (4 June 2024). "Mainpuri Election Result 2024: Dimple Yadav retains SP bastion with nearly 2.2 lakh votes margin". [[CNBC TV18]].
3. (14 May 2019). "Politically Famous Better Halves: Sonia Gandhi, Poonam Sinha & Dimple Yadav". [[The Economic Times]].
4. "Members Bioprofile - Yadav, Smt. Dimple".
5. "The love-story of Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav: A drama made for the movies".
6. (12 August 2013). "Facts you didn't know about UP CM Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav".
7. "Mulayam crosses caste barriers". Sunday Guardian.
8. (12 August 2013). "Facts you didn't know about UP CM Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav". Daily Bhaskar.
9. (29 March 2014). "Lok Sabha 2014 Elections: Dimple Yadav, a horse-rider gallops into politics". DNA News.
10. (1 July 2016). "4 साल तक चली थी अखिलेश-डिंपल की डेटिंग, ऐसी फिल्मी है CM की लव स्टोरी".
11. Bhat, Vasudha. (20 April 2014). "Jab they met: Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav". India TV News.
12. Bhat, Vasudha. (20 April 2014). "Jab they met: Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav". India TV News.
13. "Samajwadi GenNext: Akhilesh-Dimple Yadav's children get active on social media". Daiji World.
14. Singh, Digvijay. "अखिलेश-डिंपल का परिवार, बड़ी बेटी के 12वीं में 98% अंक, दो जुड़वां बच्चे Akhilesh Yadav Kids". [[Jansatta]].
15. Roy, Rustam. (6 November 2009). "I am not fighting for family but for party's honour: Mulayam's bahu Dimple Yadav". [[Times of India]].
16. (20 April 2014). "'Dhritrashtra Syndrome' dominates phase III in UP". [[The Times of India]].
17. Pradhan, Sharat. (12 November 2009). "Analysis: Why Dimple Yadav came a cropper in UP bypoll". [[Rediff]].
18. (14 December 2008). "Law Minister at the wheel in CBI's U-turn on Mulayam case". The Indian Express.
19. (1 March 2007). "Probe UP CM's money: SC to CBI". [[CNN-IBN]].
20. (16 May 2014). "SP's Dimple Yadav retains Kannauj seat by registering a win over BJP's Subrat Pathak by a margin of 19907 votes.". The Times of India.
21. "Elections 2019: Dimple Yadav loses Samajwadi Party bastion Kannauj to BJP's Subrat Pathak". Scroll.in.
22. (8 December 2022). "Mainpuri Bypoll Result: Dimple Yadav records thumping victory with over 2.8 lakh votes". The Times of India.
23. (6 June 2024). "Bullish Wins & Bearish Losses: Here are the key contests and results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls". Economic Times.
24. (5 June 2024). "Dimple Yadav continues Yadav family’s legacy, wins Mainpuri Lok Sabha elections 2024". [[Indian Express]].
25. (6 June 2024). "LS polls: Dimple Yadav wins from Mainpuri seat by margin of 221,639 votes". [[Business Standard]].