Before the 2012 State elections, Mr Akhilesh Yadav was known mostly as the son of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav. Few had heard of this low-profile Lok Sabha member from Kannauj in Parliamentary debates, although he was a ‘veteran' MP, having won three consecutive Lok Sabha elections.
The 38-year-old son of three-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, is all set to take over as the youngest-ever Chief Minister of arguably India's politically most important State. On March 15, Mr Akhilesh Yadav will be sworn in, having convincingly earned the mantle from his father by leading the Samajwadi Party to a massive victory in the Uttar Pradesh elections.
First elected to the Lower House from Kannauj in a by-election in 2000, he retained his seat in the 2004 and 2009 general elections. But in Firozabad, his wife, Dimple, lost the by-polls to actor Mr Raj Babbar of the Congress, despite her husband being the State Samajwadi Party President. In the May 2009 general elections, Mr Akhilesh Yadav had won from Firozabad also but chose to retain Kannauj. His vacating Firozabad had led to the by-poll..
Mr Akhilesh Yadav studied at the Military School in Dholpur, Rajasthan, and got his Bachelor's Degree in engineering from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore. For Masters in environmental engineering, he went to the University of Sydney.
So, what did this Yuvraj do right that the Gandhi scion, Rahul, did not?
Perhaps, it was the campaigning style, say those closely tracking UP politics. Mr Akilesh Yadav mostly used a bicycle (the SP's election symbol) for campaigning. While Mr Rahul Gandhi was the ‘angry young man' in UP, Mr Akhilesh Yadav pitched for the future, with his mantra of“Ummeed ki cycle” (cycle of hope).
He also displayed shrewd political sense. From choosing candidates, to deciding on alliances, to promising free laptops to youth or insisting that English was no longer taboo, Mr Akhilesh Yadav pressed all the right political buttons.
The task ahead will not be easy, as he faces staggering challenges. From poverty and malnutrition to illiteracy and unemployment, from crime to corruption to massive social and economic inequality, Uttar Pradesh leads the ignoble list.
But, then, many consider unseating Ms Mayawati to have been an equally Herculean task.