Akhilesh Yadav is the national president of the Samajwadi Party. He served as the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017. Born on July 1, 1973, Yadav became the youngest CM to assume office at the age of 38. He was elected the Member of Parliament from Azamgarh in the 17th Lok Sabha. For the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, he will be contesting from his stronghold Karhal seat in Mainpuri district and won. This is the first time Akhilesh will contest an assembly election. SP has always won a majority from Karhal since 1993, except once in 2002. Akhilesh Yadav is an important face for the upcoming UP assembly elections in 2022. The Samajwadi Party has formed an alliance with the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party for the polls. The parties have given the slogan ‘Khadeda Howe’, a call to “drive out” the BJP from the state. Akhilesh is the son of veteran politician Mulayam Singh Yadav, who served as the Chief Minister of UP for three non-consecutive terms. Akhilesh Yadav began his political career in the year 2000 when he got elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from Kannauj in a by-election. During his tenure as the CM of Uttar Pradesh, the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was completed and inaugurated. When Akhilesh became CM, the party was divided into two groups, one of which supported him, and the other sided with his uncle Shivpal Yadav. Recently, Akhilesh Yadav received backlash from the opposition after he compared Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru to the likes of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He said that they all studied in the same institute, and fought for India's freedom.