Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the event marking the 10th death anniversary of the late Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadav on Monday in Kanpur, via video conference.
An official release said that the Prime Minister’s participation is in recognition of the great contribution of the late leader to farmers, backward classes and other sections of the society.
A two-time Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Yadav was a towering figure and leader of the Yadav community. As the president of the influential Akhil Bhartiya Yadav Mahasabha proposed the name Mulayam Singh Yadav as their leader after the demise of Chaudhary Charan Singh.
A close friend of the Samajwadi Party patriarch, Mr. Yadav remained active in Uttar Pradesh politics and social life till his death in 2012. His son Sukhram Singh Yadav was also a former Rajya Sabha member of the Samajwadi Party.
The event is being seen as an attempt by the ruling party to make inroads into an Samajwadi Party bastion, ahead of 2024 polls. Local sources said Mr. Sukhram was mulling his political options.
In November 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the birth centenary celebrations of Mr. Yadav in his native village, Meherban Singh Ka Purva.
Mr. Yadav is also remembered for giving shelter to his Sikh neighbours during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur. President R. Venkataraman had then awarded Mr. Yadav the Shaurya Chakra for showing exemplary courage and later nominated him to the Rajya Sabha.
