Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar, widely viewed as the loudest opponent of a Congress alliance with the Samajwadi Party, struck a markedly softer tone towards the Yadav family in a television interview that is now circulating in party circles.

What Babbar said

In the interview, the actor-turned-politician said he held Mulayam Singh Yadav in the highest regard and rejected the charge that he had betrayed the SP chief by defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, in the 2009 Ferozabad Lok Sabha by-election. He said that when he first went to Ferozabad, no family member was in the fray and an outsider was set to be the SP candidate. After his own name was announced on August 26, Dimple entered the contest on September 4. “I was helpless, I could not have withdrawn,” he said.

Babbar also said that before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he had asked whether anyone from the family would contest Ferozabad and was told that the son of Ramgopal Yadav, Mulayam’s brother, would stand. He said he left the constituency to avoid a contest with a member of the family.

Why it matters

The remarks contrast with Babbar’s sharp criticism of the SP and come amid talk of a Congress-SP tie-up for the 2017 assembly election. He had earlier hit out at Prashant Kishor, the election strategist whose meeting with Mulayam set off speculation about an alliance. His opposition to the alliance had been linked to his bitter departure from the SP in 2006, and the interview has led some in the party to question whether he was being double-faced.

What happened next

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, the BJP won 312 seats, the Samajwadi Party 47 and the BSP 19. Yogi Adityanath became chief minister.

See also: Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress

Originally published on 9 December 2016. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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