SAFAI: Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was cremated at his native Saifai village in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar were among those who joined thousands of people at the funeral of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, NCP leader Praful Patel, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and the Left party leader Sitaram Yechury were among the other dignitaries who paid their tributes to the socialist leader at the Saifai Mela Ground here.
Chandrababu Naidu, also the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, termed Yadav's demise a "loss for Uttar Pradesh".
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were seen offering their condolences to Yadav's son and incumbent SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Minister Jitin Prasada, too, took part in the funeral rites.
Businessman Anil Ambani, Yadav's brother and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) founder Shivpal Yadav, senior Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, NCP leader Supriya Sule, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh were present as the three-time chief minister was to consigned to flames.
Actor and SP MP Jaya Bachchan marked his presence along with her actor son Abhishek Bachchan at the three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister's funeral ceremony.
BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, one of the opposition party leaders who arrived early, said Yadav never considered his political opponents as enemies and that he shared a personal bond with every leader.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, too, was seen accompanying Akhilesh Yadav at the ceremony.
Senior SP leaders Azam Khan, Abu Azmi, Ramgopal Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, Swami Prasad Maurya, Ram Gobind Chaudhary, Kiranmoy Nanda, and Om Prakash Singh were among the leaders that were seen since morning at the pandal where their party patron's coffin was kept.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had also served as the defence minister, passed away aged 82 at a private hospital in Gurugram on Monday.
His mortal remains were brought to Saifai that evening and kept at his 'kothi', where thousands descended to pay their last respects to their "netaji", as he was fondly called.
People in large numbers were headed Tuesday for the last rites of veteran socialist leader Mulayam Singh Yadav at his native village Saifai in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, the intermittent morning drizzle adding to the sombreness.
The Samajwadi Party founder and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister passed away aged 82 at a private hospital in Gurugram on Monday.
His mortal remains were brought to Saifai Monday evening and kept at his 'kothi' where thousands descended to pay their last respects to "Netaji", as Yadav was fondly called.
Party workers and people in their hundreds -- riding cycles, motorcycles, cars, SUVs and other means of transport -- were headed to Saifai from nearby areas Tuesday morning for the final rites.
In her condolence message, President Droupadi Murmu Monday described Yadav as "Dharti Putra" - a moniker bestowed on the socialist leader for his growth as a political heavyweight from the grassroots level.
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"Yadav was hugely popular among the locals for his connect with the masses," Manoj Mishra, a native of Etawah told PTI, reminiscing how 'Netaji' knew people of the region by their first names.
As it drizzled Tuesday morning, hundreds of people queued up outside Yadav's 'kothi' for his the final darshan. Among them was a group of six men who had come from Chunar village in Mirzapur in eastern UP.
"We left village in an auto for Mirzapur railway station. Boarded a train at 11 pm and reached Etawah around 7 am," Babu Nandan Yadav told PTI after Yadav's darshan.
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Meanwhile, preparations were underway for the last rites of Yadav at Saifai amid heavy security presence and large public turnout. The cremation is scheduled in the afternoon.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are likely to arrive here during the day.
Elevated platform constructed overnight amid drizzles for Mulayam's last rites in Saifai
Scores of men and some machines worked through the night amid intermittent drizzles to create a platform for conducting the last rites of socialist leader Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Tuesday.
They also raised a huge tarpaulin pandaal supported by metal frames to cover the area before the platform amid drizzles and overcast skies.
Both the platform and the pandaal are created inside the Mela ground premises, where the famous annual Saifai Mahotsav was held until five years ago.
The platform is made of brick and cement and is around three-feet high with soil filled in it. The platform is just adjacent to the memorial of Yadav's first wife Malti Devi, who passed away in 2003.
Locals witnessing the work told PTI the construction of the elevated platform and the pandaal started late in the night.
They said two excavators were deployed and that the speed of work amazed them.
"It was all a level ground here instead of the platform and the pandaal. When the Saifai Mahotsav would be held, this area was used by vendors for setting up their tents. The main shows of artistes and film starts would take place in the hall on the other side," Ambrish Yadav, who came for the last rites from a nearby village, said.
Around 10.30 am, District Magistrate Avanish Rai and Senior Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Singh reviewed the preparation works for the last rites. Both denied any comments to media.