Timeline: How Samajwadi Party Cycled Its Way Through Peaks and Valleys

In October 1992, two disciples of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Beni Prasad Verma, founded the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh.  They broke away from a faction of Janata Dal. SP is a major political force in Uttar Pradesh with a significant presence in some other states like Madhya Pradesh. Its support hails mainly from the Muslim community and other communities categorised as the Other Backward Classes (OBC). With ‘Samajwad’ (socialism) right there in its name the party claims to be a champion of an equal society.

Outlook looks at the timeline of the party. It highlights the key milestones and developments in the history of Samajwadi Party from its inception to the present day.

1992: On October 4 , 1992, just two months before Babri mosque demolition, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Beni Prasad Verma founded the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. They split off a faction of Janata Dal, like many others to form a regional party.

1993: In December 1993, SP won 109 out of 256 seats in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. It formed the government with outside support from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).  Mulayam Singh Yadav took oath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh a second time.

1994: On the night of October 2, the state police allegedly fired at unarmed Uttrakhand statehood activists in Muzzafarnagar district. Seven activists died in the firing and the case came to be known as the Rampur Tiraha firing case. Mulayam Singh government had ordered the administration to stop the activists from going to Delhi to take part in the agitation for the separate statehood.

1995: In June BSP withdrew its support and the 18 month old SP government fell.

1996: SP fielded candidates for the first time in general elections. It won 16 seats with a 3.3% vote share. Mulayam Singh became defence minister in the United Front government. While in the assembly it had to settle for 110 seats in a hung verdict and sat in the opposition.

2003: On August 29 Mulayam Singh was sworn –in as the CM for the third time, after the BSP-BJP coalition government collapsed. This was following a whopping 33 BSP MLAs defected and joined SP.

2004: SP became part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to form the government at the centre.

2008: Party leader Amar Singh was accused of ‘cash for vote’ scam to save the government during a no-confidence motion brought in by the left parties against UPA government over the nuclear deal.

2007: After BSP got clear mandate in the state elections SP once again became the party in opposition.

2009: A stalwart leader and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s right hand, Azam Khan, resigned from party on May 17 and later on May 24 he claimed he was expelled from party for six years.

2012: In 12^th state assembly SP made a comeback with a new CM, Akhilesh Singh Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Azam Khan had also rejoined the party by then. While the son rose to power, the father was marred by controversy for opposing the changes made in the law to include death penalty for rape convicts, post Nirbhaya case.

2017: The BJP claimed the victory with a brute majority while SP and BSP just managed to garner seats in double digits each. SP not only lost political power in the state but also faced corruption charges in the mining sector during their previous tenure. BJP government filed cases against SP leader and former mining minister, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati for sand mining scam. A CBI probe was also ordered against him.

2019: SP and BSP decided to fight the Lok Sabha election together. However they only managed to get 11 seats out of 80.

2022: SP led an alliance of eight parties to fight the assembly elections. BSP stayed away from any alliance this time. Even though Akhilesh Yadav’s election rallies saw huge crowds, BJP managed to come back to power a second time. Party’s founding member, Mulayam Singh Yadav, passed away on October 10 after illness and hospitalisation.

2023: In June, SP became part of the INDIA bloc, a political alliance of opposition parties to counter the BJP-led NDA in the general elections 2024. Akhilesh Yadav gave the slogan of ‘80 Harao, BJP Hatao’ (Defeat on 80, Remove BJP) specifically for Uttar Pradesh, appealing to people to defeat BJP at all 80 seats in the state. 

2024: After much political drama, SP and Congress managed to reach a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming general elections. SP will fight 63 seats in UP while Congress will take the remaining 11. Congress has given the Khajuraho seat in Madhya Pradesh to SP.