(Image source from: Indiatodayne.in)

Prateek Yadav, the child of the late Mulayam Singh Yadav who founded the Samajwadi Party, passed away at 38 years old in Lucknow. He was declared dead upon arrival at the civil hospital in Lucknow on Wednesday. He was married to Aparna Yadav, a BJP leader, and he was also the half-brother of Akhilesh Yadav, who was a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, family members brought him to the hospital around 6.15 am, where he was pronounced dead. His wife was not there at that moment. A group of doctors at King George Medical University will conduct an autopsy to determine what caused his death. Initial checks showed there were no obvious injuries on his body. Prateek had long been dealing with issues related to his lungs and was receiving treatment for a blood clot in that area. When his health worsened in the morning and he became unresponsive, his family quickly took him to the Civil Hospital.

Prateek Yadav was the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his second wife Sadhna. He earned an MBA from Leeds University in the UK and was known as a successful real estate developer and someone who loved fitness. In September 2012, he was highlighted on a popular bodybuilding website as the "international transformation of the month. " He attributed his change in appearance to motivational advice he received from his father more than ten years ago. Prateek was passionate about animal welfare and actively supported efforts to care for animals. He drew criticism in 2017 when he bought a Lamborghini worth Rs 5 crore, with some questioning how someone from a family that claims to be socialist could afford such a pricey car. He responded by saying, "I purchased the car through a loan. I have all the documents and I pay my taxes. Why is there an issue? " Akhilesh Yadav is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his first wife, Malati Devi. Malati experienced difficulties during childbirth and remained in a vegetative state until her death in 2003. Shortly after her passing, Mulayam Singh Yadav married Sadhna in May 2003. Sadhna had initially married Chandra Prakash Gupta in 1987 and they had a son named Prateek Gupta. A year after Prateek was born, Sadhna left her husband, and they divorced in 1990. Sadhna passed away in July 2002.

Prateek Yadav and Aparna Yadav tied the knot in 2011 after dating for eight years. They first met at a gathering through a common friend and started exchanging emails. In a conversation with a British newspaper, she mentioned that she developed feelings for him in 10th grade. For a long time, she didn't realize he was the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Their marriage saw many well-known individuals from politics, business, and entertainment in attendance. They later became parents to two kids. In January, Prateek Yadav and Aparna Yadav declared their intention to seek a divorce, stating that she had damaged family relationships, although they didn't proceed with it later. He expressed in a heartfelt Instagram message, "I am going to end this marriage with this selfish woman soon. She has destroyed my family connections. All she desires is to be famous and powerful. " He also claimed that she didn’t care about his struggles with mental health.

Different from many of his relatives in the Yadav family, Prateek had never run for office or taken on any formal political role and stayed away from political matters. In November 2012, some members of the Samajwadi Party asked for Prateek Yadav to receive a nomination to run in Azamgarh for the 2014 general elections. His mother and uncle Shivpal Yadav also supported the idea of him entering politics, but it didn't happen.