Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav immersed the ashes of his father and party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav at the Sangam — the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati river — in Prayagraj on Wednesday.
Akhilesh was accompanied by his family members, including his daughter Tina and son Arjun, his uncle Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) chief Shivpal Yadav, cousin and former MP Dharmendra Yadav, stepbrother Prateek Yadav among others, during the rituals.
Before the immersion of the ashes, the family members led by former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav performed various rituals led by priest Pradeep Pandey and Utsav Shukla at a specially constructed platform mid-river at the confluence where a large garlanded photograph of Mulayam Singh Yadav was put up.
Mahant Balbir Giri, head of the Baghambari Gaddi Math, was also present during the rituals.
Earlier in the day, the SP chief boarded a private aircraft from Saifai airstrip in Etawah and it landed at Bamrauli airport in Prayagraj.
From the airport, Akhilesh Yadav and other family members went to the VIP ghat at Sangam where a large number of SP workers and leaders were present to pay their last respects. The district administration had made all the necessary arrangements, including security, as per norms for a former CM. The Yadav family then took steamers and motorboats to reach the platform set up mid river at the Sangam for the rituals. Standing in waist-deep Sangam waters, Akhilesh immersed the ashes of his father.
{{/usCountry}}From the airport, Akhilesh Yadav and other family members went to the VIP ghat at Sangam where a large number of SP workers and leaders were present to pay their last respects. The district administration had made all the necessary arrangements, including security, as per norms for a former CM. The Yadav family then took steamers and motorboats to reach the platform set up mid river at the Sangam for the rituals. Standing in waist-deep Sangam waters, Akhilesh immersed the ashes of his father.
{{/usCountry}}He was then joined by other family members who all together took a dip in the holy waters to complete the rituals.
Mulayam Singh Yadav’s ashes were also immersed in the Ganga at Haridwar on October 17.
The SP patriarch had breathed his last on October 10 at a private hospital in Gurugram. He was 82. His last rites were performed at his native Saifai village in Etawah district on October 11.