NEW DELHI: Like many women who marry into political families, Dimple Yadav’s entry into politics was more a matter of circumstance than choice. She made her electoral debut in 2009 after her husband, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, vacated the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat, choosing to retain Kannauj after contesting from both constituencies. Despite a star-studded campaign, Dimple lost to Congress candidate Raj Babbar. Since then, however, she has contested five Lok Sabha elections, winning four. Yet, her electoral record did little to dispel the perception that she was a relatively passive player in politics. Within the Samajwadi Party, she was seen as a low-profile figure who complemented her husband from the background. In Parliament, she was often spotted sitting behind Akhilesh, thumping her desk in support of his speeches. For years, Dimple appeared unable (or perhaps unwilling) to step out of her husband’s political shadow. That may now be changing. With the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections approaching, Dimple, who has largely accompanied Akhilesh at party meetings and public gatherings, has been entrusted with an independent political responsibility. The move signals a possible shift in her role as Akhilesh prepares for another bid to return to power at 5, Kalidas Marg, after a decade out of office.
From Akhilesh’s shadow to SP’s second-in-command
Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Dimple Yadav is stepping into a more prominent role in the Samajwadi Party. Since Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death in 2022 and the decline of Shivpal Yadav’s influence within the party, she has increasingly emerged as one of its most visible campaigners and a key figure in its leadership. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Dimple addressed rallies across more than a dozen constituencies. She also retained Mainpuri, the family stronghold, by a margin of nearly two lakh votes. Her media appearances and social media presence have grown considerably, reflecting a more assertive public role than in the past. Her growing political visibility has extended beyond election campaigns. During the protests over the NEET paper leak in June and July, she emerged at the forefront of the party’s outreach to student protesters. She also led delegations to meet climate activist Sonam Wangchuk during his hunger strike, expressing support for his demands. On July 20, she joined the student-led “Sansad Chalo” protest in New Delhi and was seen tending to injured students after clashes with Delhi Police. While Akhilesh was inside Parliament, Dimple was out on the streets. She has also become a more vocal representative of the party’s position on issues ranging from women’s safety to the alleged embezzlement of donations made to Ayodhya’s Ram temple. Both inside and outside the Lok Sabha, she has sharpened her attacks on the BJP, challenging its claims on governance and social justice. Dimple has also accused the BJP of deliberately delaying the implementation of women’s reservation, despite Parliament passing the legislation in 2023. “When the Bill was tabled in 2023, all political parties supported it and it was passed, which explains that the opposition was in no way against the Bill. If the BJP’s sole intention was reservation to women, they would have implemented the Bill passed in 2023,” she said. “They have other motives behind moving the amendment Bill,” the Mainpuri MP added. Her latest initiative is the proposed Stri Samman Samriddhi Yojana, a scheme aimed at the economic and social empowerment of women that the Samajwadi Party says it will introduce if voted to power in 2027. The proposal promises eligible women an annual payment of Rs 40,000. “Women’s power will develop not merely by talking about it, but by giving women true representation. Respect and prosperity of every woman included in the PDA as ‘Aadhi Abadi’ (women) is our resolve,” Dimple said. “She deserves respect simply because she is a woman. Social empowerment and strengthening her position require respect even before prosperity,” she added. The announcement also places the Samajwadi Party in direct competition with the BJP over women-focused welfare. It came amid reports that the Yogi Adityanath government was considering a direct cash-transfer scheme offering women Rs 50,000.
Why Akhilesh needs Dimple
The PDA formula — Pichada, Dalit, Alpasankhyak (backward classes, Dalits and minorities) — helped the Samajwadi Party stage a remarkable comeback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. After winning just five of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 seats in 2019, the party secured 37 in 2024, emerging as the state’s largest party in the Lok Sabha. It expanded beyond its traditional Muslim-Yadav support base by fielding candidates from non-Yadav OBC and Dalit communities. But replicating that success in an assembly election will require more than maintaining caste arithmetic. As Akhilesh prepares for the high-stakes polls scheduled for early 2027, he is looking to preserve the party’s momentum and widen its appeal further. Women, who cut across caste and religious boundaries, are central to that effort. The scale of the opportunity is considerable. Women account for 45.46% of Uttar Pradesh’s electorate, with 6,09,09,525 registered voters, according to the figures cited by the state’s electoral authorities. They have also consistently turned out in greater numbers than men in recent elections. In the 2022 Assembly polls, women’s turnout stood at around 62.2%, compared with 59.6% among men. The pattern continued in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when turnout among women was 57.22%, against 56.46% among men. Yet women voters have historically been a weak spot for the Samajwadi Party. According to the Lokniti-CSDS post-poll survey for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP enjoyed a 13-percentage-point lead over the SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance among women voters. The BJP has also repeatedly invoked the law-and-order record of previous SP governments to portray the party as insensitive to women’s safety. Recalling the period before 2017, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said during a public address in Gorakhpur: “A saying had become popular: ‘Dekh Sapayi, bitiya ghabrayi’.” He alleged that criminals and strongmen under the then government had created an atmosphere of fear, leaving families worried about their daughters’ safety. This is where Dimple could prove politically valuable. Her growing prominence gives the Samajwadi Party a recognisable woman leader who can take its PDA pitch beyond caste coalitions and make aadhi abadi — women, or half the population — a more visible part of its political strategy. She can serve as the face of its outreach to women, amplify its welfare promises and challenge the BJP’s claim to be the more women-friendly party. She also offers the SP a way to counter its longstanding image problem on law and order. Unlike the party’s male leadership, which continues to face the BJP’s allegations of mafia-gunda raj, Dimple has no comparable political baggage. Her public persona is less confrontational, potentially allowing the party to project a more measured and inclusive image without abandoning its attacks on the ruling party. Her role could also help the SP challenge the BJP on women’s representation and welfare on more equal political terms. Rather than relying solely on Akhilesh to make the case, the party now has a prominent woman leader with electoral credibility, national visibility and a place within its inner circle. Dimple’s Rajput background could offer another avenue for outreach beyond the party’s traditional support base. Whether that translates into wider support among Rajputs, however, remains uncertain.
How an SP win could reshape Dimple’s role
A return to power in Uttar Pradesh could further transform Dimple’s position, both within the Samajwadi Party and in national politics. If Akhilesh becomes chief minister, Dimple could assume a more substantial role in Parliament and potentially take on greater responsibility for coordinating the party’s parliamentary strategy. A stronger organisational position could also put her at the centre of the SP’s outreach to women and communities beyond its traditional support base. Such a shift would mark a significant departure from the role she occupied for much of her political career: a low-profile MP whose public identity was closely tied to her husband’s. But greater visibility does not automatically translate into electoral gains. Dimple’s prominence could help the SP soften its image, challenge the BJP’s women-centric welfare politics and give its promises on representation and economic empowerment a more credible public face. Whether she can materially alter voting patterns, however, remains an open question. Uttar Pradesh is expected to vote in February-March 2027 to elect a 403-member assembly, though the Election Commission has yet to announce the official schedule.
