No backward class leader visible in UP politics to fill void caused by Mulayam Singh Yadav's death: Ajay Rai

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai paid tributes to former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on his death anniversary on Tuesday and said that currently there is no backward class leader who can fill the void caused by the demise of the Samajwadi Party founder. "While Mulayam Singh Yadav ji gave strength to the backward classes, he also kept all other communities connected with him. He was a practical leader who had cordial relations with all political parties," Rai said in the statement.

No backward class leader is visible "far and wide" in Uttar Pradesh politics to fill the void caused by Mulayam Singh Yadav's death, he added.

Rai's statement assumes significance since both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party are part of the opposition's INDIA alliance with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, batting for the cause of PDA which he defined as a "Pichde (backward classes), Dalit and Alpasankhyak (minorities)".