Lucknow: On Monday, many parliamentarians and politicians came out of Parliament to show solidarity with students protesting at the Jantar Mantar and elsewhere in the national capital.
They gave TV bytes, made their points and left, with some later appearing in TV debates, and some taking to social media to air their views. One of them, a woman politician who led her party MPs to meet the protesters, stayed back, attending to injured students, arranging ambulances and doctors, offering them water and also taking on the police for what the protesters described as excessive use of force against the protesting students and youths.
It was Dimple Yadav, Samajwadi Party MP from Mainpuri, who for most of her political career has lived under the shadow of her more illustrious husband, Akhilesh Yadav, SP chief and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
By the evening on Monday, a new star was born. Video clips of Dimple tending to injured students were going viral. It was not just her compassionate side that endeared her to Gen Z.
She tore into the government, accusing the police of coming in plain clothes and without badges to brutally beat up the young protesters demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over incidents of paper leaks. “Possibly, it’s the most arrogant, harsh and cruel government,” Dimple roared.
Her party colleagues are pleasantly surprised to see her new avatar. Machhlishahr MP Priya Saroj, who remained with Dimple throughout the demonstration, said she had never seen the senior SP leader display such aggression.
“I saw Dimple ji in a completely different role. She wasn’t behaving merely as a politician leading a protest. She was behaving like a mother worried about her children,” Saroj told ThePrint
“Across social media platforms, people are discussing the way she led the protest. Politics has its place, but humanity comes first. She ensured injured students received treatment, arranged ambulances and kept checking on everyone. Many students themselves came to her and narrated what they had gone through. She was listening to each one of them patiently.”
निराशा में आँख का पानी
जब समुंदर बन जाता है
‘इंक़लाब’ तब आता है!!!
कोई अपनी ताक़त पर
जब सर उठा इठलाता है
‘इंक़लाब’ तब आता है!
हुक़ूमतों का घमंड-गुरूर
जब पर्वत सा बन जाता है
‘इंक़लाब’ तब आता है!!!
दौर जब नाइंसाफ़ी का
हद ही पार कर जाता है
‘इंक़लाब’ तब आता है!
जब-जब देश का… pic.twitter.com/UHEk8OBwmu
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) July 20, 2026
Priya also alleged that police personnel behaved roughly with opposition MPs during the protest.
“Police were pushing everyone near the barricades. Dimple ji’s hand was rubbed during the scuffle but she refused to step back. Even after we were detained and taken to the police station, she remained focused on ensuring that the injured students received medical attention,” she said.
‘I saw Dimple ji in a completely different role. She wasn’t behaving merely as a politician leading a protest. She was behaving like a mother worried about her children,’ SP says MP Priya Saroj.
SP MP Rajeev Rai, who was also present during the protest, said Dimple’s conduct gained admiration beyond party ranks.
“The sensitivity with which Dimple ji handled the protest has been appreciated everywhere,” Rai said. According to him, the decision to organise a march from Parliament to Jantar Mantar was taken with Akhilesh Yadav’s approval, while Dimple was chosen to lead it because she had been associated with the students’ movement from the beginning.
“Young protesters responded very positively to her. There was an emotional connect. They approached her freely with their grievances because they saw in her the concern of a mother rather than simply a political leader. She also ensured that these students should be safe” he added.
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An ever-smiling, affable Yadav family ‘bahu’
The 48-year-old was born in Pune although her family originally hails from Uttarakhand. She is currently in her fourth term as a member of parliament from Mainpuri constituency. Her father, Ram Chandra Singh Rawat served as colonel in the Indian Army.
Close associates of the Yadav family told thePrint that Dimple Yadav first met Akhilesh Yadav when she was 17 years old and Akhilesh was about 22.
At the time, Akhilesh was pursuing engineering, and Dimple was still in school. She was studying in Army Public School, Lucknow. She later did B.Com from Lucknow University.
The two were introduced at a party in Lucknow through a mutual friend and became friends. They remained in touch after their first meeting. Soon afterward, Akhilesh left for Australia to pursue higher studies, but the distance did not affect their bond, and they continued to stay connected.
आज सोनम वांगचुक जी से मुलाकात हुई।
उनके शांतिपूर्ण संघर्ष को नमन।
देश के युवाओं की भावनाओं को लेकर सरकार का रवैया चिंताजनक है। pic.twitter.com/8hZGeH1jRl
— Dimple Yadav (@dimpleyadav) July 16, 2026
Dimple and Akhilesh dated for nearly four years. After Akhilesh returned from Australia, his family began urging him to get married. It was then that he told his grandmother, Murti Devi, about Dimple.
However, their relationship faced resistance from both families. It is said that Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was initially reluctant to accept the match because Dimple belonged to the Rajput community. Eventually, both families gave their consent, and Akhilesh and Dimple got married in November 1999.
The couple have three children—daughters Aditi and Tina, and son Arjun. Aditi has a degree in politics and international relations from University College London. She returned to India after doing the course and is now doing law at Delhi University. She campaigned for her mother in Mainpuri in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Tina and Arjun Yadav are twins studying in London.
Dimple entered electoral politics a decade after the marriage—in 2009. But she lost her maiden election: a bypoll the same year from Ferozabad against Raj Babbar, the actor-turned-politician contesting on a Congress ticket.
मां की ममता pic.twitter.com/eYI73KCgue
— Samajwadi Party Media Cell (@mediacellsp) July 21, 2026
Three years later though, she entered the Parliament after winning the Kannauj by-election unopposed in 2012. This by-election was necessitated by her husband Akhilesh Yadav vacating the seat after becoming Uttar Pradesh chief minister and moving to the Legislative Council.
She lost the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election but returned to Parliament in 2022, winning the politically significant Mainpuri by-election following Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death. Over the past few years, she has emerged as a woman face of the Samajwadi Party.
Dimple was associated with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)’s protest from the beginning. On July 16, she travelled from Lucknow to Delhi as part of a Samajwadi Party delegation to meet climate activist Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar, where she had expressed solidarity with the protesting students.
Four days later, she led SP MPs ‘Paidal March’ from Parliament to the protest venue. The march, however, was stopped midway after police erected barricades to prevent demonstrators from moving ahead. A heated exchange followed between Dimple and police personnel before several opposition leaders and protesters were detained.
During the protest, Dimple strongly attacked the ruling BJP and the Delhi police.
She accused the government of suppressing peaceful protests through force.
“Today will be remembered as a black day for democracy,” she told reporters. She alleged that several students were injured during the police action. “Some police officers were only performing their duty, but others used unnecessary force,” she said, claiming that women students were also mistreated and that some had their clothes torn during the confrontation.
“The government must fix accountability and ensure an impartial inquiry (into paper leaks) This country will run according to the Constitution, not according to any ideology. The voices of peacefully protesting students were suppressed. Our demand is simple. The Education Minister should resign and the government must accept responsibility. The country has perhaps never witnessed such an arrogant, harsh and insensitive government,” she said.
SP’s second-in-command
After party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav was widely regarded as the second-most influential leader in the organisation. Under Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership, however, many party insiders believe that space is increasingly being occupied by Dimple.
Over the past few years she has become noticeably more active at major party programmes. Whenever Akhilesh is unable to attend an important event, it is increasingly Dimple who represents the party.
Her visit to Jantar Mantar on 16 July in support of Sonam Wangchuk, when Akhilesh was absent, was cited by party leaders as another example of this evolving role.
Senior SP leaders say Dimple’s political profile has expanded significantly since the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2022.
“Although he first entered Parliament in 2012 after winning the Kannauj by-election unopposed, most in the party believe the turning point came after Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death,” one SP leader told ThePrint.
The Mainpuri by-election necessitated after his death presented a major challenge to the party. Relations between Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav had deteriorated, creating fears of a split in the Yadav family’s traditional political base.
As per this leader, Akhilesh had already decided that Dimple would contest from Mainpuri. However, there were concerns within the party that if Shivpal chooses to contest independently or even decide to support the BJP, it would not be easy for her to win from there.
”It was during this period, Dimple ji played a key role in bringing Akhilesh and Shivpal together. Her efforts contributed to the reconciliation between the two leaders, after which Shivpal campaigned actively for her,” he said
The result was a decisive victory. Dimple retained the prestigious Mainpuri seat for the party by a margin of nearly 2.9 lakh votes. Party leaders argue that the campaign also demonstrated her ability to connect directly with voters rather than relying solely on the Yadav family’s political legacy.
Since becoming Mainpuri MP, Dimple has significantly expanded her political outreach in Yadav’s bastion. She has remained active in her constituency while also campaigning across Uttar Pradesh. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election, she addressed rallies in more than a dozen constituencies and emerged as one of the SP’s most sought-after star campaigners.
Her media appearances and social media presence have also increased considerably compared with earlier years.
A senior party functionary said this is part of a conscious strategy to strengthen the party’s women leadership.
“As the debate over women’s political representation gains momentum, the Samajwadi Party wants Dimple Yadav to emerge as its most recognisable woman leader. You will increasingly see her leading major campaigns and political movements,” the leader said.
According to him, her high-profile role at Jantar Mantar fits into this broader organisational strategy.
Another senior SP leader believes Dimple’s expanding role serves an additional political purpose. “The BJP has long tried to portray the Samajwadi Party as a party associated with Gunda-Gardi (muscle power). Dimple Yadav’s personality offers a contrast to that image,” the leader said.
“She is educated, articulate and carries a moderate public image. BJP leaders often launch personal attacks on Akhilesh Yadav, sometimes even referring to him as ‘Babua‘. But they generally avoid making similar remarks against Dimple.”
The leader stressed, however, that Akhilesh Yadav would continue to remain the undisputed head of the party. “There is no question about the leadership. Akhilesh ji remains the party chief. Dimple ji is increasingly emerging as the second-in-command.”
Dimple’s assertive appearance at Jantar Mantar now suggests that the Samajwadi Party is preparing her for a much larger organisational role.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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