I wish you become PM again: Remembering Mulayam Singh Yadav's bonhomie with Narendra Modi, a tale of foe turned friends

Foes turning friends is not new to Indian politics. A similar bonhomie was seen in February 2019 between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Narendra Modi when the late Samajwadi Party gave a shocker to the opposition by heaping praise on the prime minister in the Parliament. 

Speaking on the last sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha on February 13, 2019, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said he wished to see Narendra Modi back as prime minister. The remarks by Yadav, who was elected to the state Assembly eight times and to Parliament seven times, left the opposition squirming in Lok Sabha but were greeted by cheers from the treasury benches with the PM acknowledging Yadav’s “blessings” with folded hands.

“PM ko badhaai dena chahta hun ki PM ne sabko saath lekar chalne ka pura prayas kiya. Main chahta hun, meri kamna hai ki saare sadsya phir se jeet kar aayen aur aap (PM) dobara pradhan mantri banein (I want to congratulate the PM (Narendra Modi) that he tried to take everyone along. I want all the members (of Lok Sabha) to win and come back and that you become the prime minister again),” Yadav had said. 

#WATCH Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lok Sabha, says, "PM ko badhaai dena chahta hun ki PM ne sabko saath lekar chalne ka pura prayas kiya. Main chahta hun, meri kamna hai ki saare sadsya phir se jeet kar aayen aur aap (PM) dobara pradhan mantri banein." pic.twitter.com/j6Bnj9Kr3p

— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2019

The remarks came ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in which the BJP-led NDA retained power with a thumping majority. The Samajwadi Party, which is led by Mulayam’s son Akhilesh Yadav, had then joined hands with Mayawati’s Bahujan  Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh to take on the BJP. 

Mulayam’s praise for PM Modi showed his unhappiness and disappointment with Akhilesh’s move of forging an alliance with the BSP. Mulayam had not only turned down the alliance with the BSP, but also clearly stated that the opposition, would not be able to get a majority like the BJP.

It ma be noted that this was not for the first time that Mulayam has shown his penchant for Modi. Earlier, he had invited him for the marriage of his nephew Tej Pratap. Modi attended the wedding in Mulayam’s village Saifai. In 2017, Mulayam had attended UP Chief Minister Adityanath’s oath-taking ceremony and had sat beside the prime minister on the podium.

However, the praises did not come from just one side. In September 2015, Yadav said it was matter of honour for him that PM Modi had praised him and his party at a rally. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising me and my party is a matter of honour for me,” Mulayam said. 

Modi, during his visit to Saharanpur back then, had praised Mulayam for breaking ranks with Congress for ending the Parliament logjam during the recent monsoon session. “Mulayam Singh is in the Opposition. He criticises us. Yet, for protecting the democracy, he made every effort so that Parliament be allowed to function,” Modi had said while addressing a rally at Saroorpur village in Saharanpur.