Kamal Ghorui
Prateek Yadav, younger son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and stepbrother of Akhilesh Yadav, passed away in Lucknow at 38.
LUCKNOW: Prateek Yadav, the younger son of late Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and stepbrother of Akhilesh Yadav, died in Lucknow on Wednesday morning at the age of 38, leaving behind a life that largely stayed away from politics but frequently made headlines for his business ventures, family ties, personal struggles and deep love for animals.Prateek, husband of BJP leader Aparna Yadav, was brought to Civil Hospital around 6am, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Authorities said the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained and a postmortem examination is underway at King George’s Medical University.Who was Prateek Yadav?Born into one of Uttar Pradesh’s most influential political families, Prateek maintained distance from electoral politics. Educated at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, he focused on fitness and real estate businesses in Lucknow. He ran a gym called “The Fitness Planet” and was associated with multiple real estate ventures over the years.Yet beyond business and political lineage, Prateek cultivated a very different public image on social media.One of his pinned Instagram posts carried a simple but telling message: “May life treat you the way you treat animals.” Another deeply personal post was dedicated to his pet dog Dulari, whom he described as his “eldest beti”. In the emotional tribute, he wrote that Dulari taught him “the universal language of beings” and inspired all the animal welfare work he later undertook.Prateek was also linked to “Jeev Ashray”, an animal welfare initiative involved in rescuing and caring for stray dogs.His final Instagram post, uploaded on April 3, showed him flying in an Extra EA-300 aerobatic aircraft. Comparing the experience to scenes from the film “Top Gun”, he wrote about “pulling Gs, slicing through clouds, and rolling mid-air”, calling it “adrenaline in its purest form”.Earlier this year, however, Prateek had hit headlines after publicly speaking about marital discord with Aparna Yadav. In a lengthy Instagram post in January, he alleged that he was suffering from severe mental stress and accused Aparna of damaging family relationships while prioritising fame and influence. He had also announced plans to seek divorce.The allegations triggered political and personal speculation, though Aparna’s brother Aman Bisht later claimed Prateek’s Instagram account had been hacked and termed the posts fake. Within days, the public dispute appeared to settle down. In February, Prateek shared another social media post with Aparna carrying the message, “All is Good”.Prateek and Aparna married in 2011 in a grand ceremony held in Saifai, attended by several political leaders and celebrities, including Amitabh Bachchan. The couple had known each other since 2001 and have two daughters.In recent years, Prateek was also embroiled in a business dispute. He had filed an FIR accusing a former business associate of extorting over Rs 4 crore, criminal intimidation and financial fraud. In the complaint, he claimed prolonged illness, coupled with the deaths of his mother Sadhna Gupta, father Mulayam Singh Yadav and maternal uncle, had left him emotionally vulnerable and financially exploited.Prateek was particularly close to his mother Sadhna Gupta, second wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav, who died in 2022 after a prolonged illness. He performed her last rites in Lucknow in the presence of Mulayam Singh Yadav and the entire Yadav family, including Akhilesh and Shivpal Yadav.Despite periodic reports of tensions within the Yadav family during the Samajwadi Party’s internal feud ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Prateek had publicly praised Akhilesh Yadav at the time, saying nobody could put Uttar Pradesh on the path of development like his “bhaiya”.Following news of his death, condolences poured in from across the political spectrum. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath described the death as “extremely heartbreaking”, while the Samajwadi Party also expressed grief.Police and medical authorities said the exact cause of death would become clear only after the postmortem report is received.
