In the aftermath of the July 20 violence during the students’ march to Parliament, a woman MP, wearing a pink saree, reached Jantar Mantar. While several politicians came and went, she stayed back, comforting the injured and tending to a protester who fainted. It was among the several visits Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav would make to Jantar Mantar. For the soft-spoken bahu of Mainpuri, it was her moment under the sun after having lived most of her political career under the shadow of her husband and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
In fact, the 48-year-old Mainpuri MP was among the first politicians to be associated with the Cockroach Janata Party’s protest even before it snowballed to what it is now. On July 16, Dimple visited Jantar Mantar to meet activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on hunger strike demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In a departure, she was not accompanied by Akhilesh.
“The government’s attitude towards the sentiments of the country’s youth is concerning,” Dimple tweeted. Wangchuk ended his fast on Friday.
Two days later, as Wangchuk was shifted from the protest site to hospital by the Delhi Police, Dimple hit back with another acerbic post. Referring to how Wangchuk was removed using white sheets as a cover, Dimple tweeted, “BJP folks have brought a white shroud as a coffin for the nation.”
Dimple Yadav at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Monday (PTI)
DIMPLE YADAV’S NEW AVATAR
It was Dimple in a new avatar. She was no longer the demure, soft-spoken bahu (daughter-in-law). The Mainpuri MP found her voice, coming a long way since she made her electoral debut in 2009. While she lost her maiden election from Ferozabad, she entered Parliament in 2012 after winning the Kannauj by-election.
Since then, she has won two more elections, serving as the MP from Mainpuri – considered a bastion of late Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh.
Dimple’s warrior avatar was seen on July 20. The Lok Sabha MP was detained while she was leading a march from Parliament to Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the student protesters. However, instead of staying put at the police station, Dimple came out and tried to scale the barricades to interact with the protesters.
Videos showing a saree-clad Dimple trying to climb onto the police barricades went viral. Another showed the MP asking her party worker to bring water for an injured youth. She was also seen trying to help him breathe.
She was also seen engaging in a heated exchange with police personnel while being detained. “Today will be remembered as a black day for democracy,” Dimple told the media. She also claimed that women protesters were also mistreated and some had their clothes torn during Monday’s chaos.
“The Samajwadi Party is fully with the students. This is not NEET, it is CHEAT,” she tweeted. A mother of three, Dimple said she could empathise with what the students felt.
Dimple Yadav has come a long way since she made her electoral debut in 2009
MAINPURI’S BAHU COMES OF AGE
Even Samajwadi Party leaders admitted that the kind of aggression shown by Dimple was never seen in the past, according to a report in the Deccan Herald. By the evening, the aggression had given way to compassion.
On Monday evening, Dimple was seen meeting the protesters who thronged Jantar Mantar after the day’s violence. She stayed back, refrained from giving media bytes, attended to the injured students, and even offered water to the protesters.
Dimple’s confident streak was seen in Parliament as well, as she vehemently demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah as well.
“The Education Minister should have resigned on his own after such a massive movement… The Delhi Police functions under the Centre; it is responsible for the excesses against the students. I believe the Home Minister should also resign because this has become a major issue,” Dimple said in Parliament on Thursday.
The apparent image makeover of Dimple comes at a crucial time, with elections to Uttar Pradesh just months away. In fact, over the last couple of years, Dimple has been more visible at major events of the Samajwadi Party.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the Mainpuri MP has been increasingly focusing on raising education, employment, and women’s issues as the party aims to upstage the Yogi Adityanath government.
She is increasingly being seen as the No.2 in the party. Previously, Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav was widely regarded as the second-most influential leader in the party.
Under Akhilesh, she has undoubtedly gained more prominence and voice. Dimple’s active involvement in the student protests has shown a different side of her. Known for staying away from the limelight, Dimple has emerged as one of the Samajwadi Party’s most visible faces amid the CJP protests.
In her trademark sarees and loosely tied hair, Dimple’s presence has been hard to miss. She seems to have found a political voice that is distinctly her own, bringing her out of her husband’s shadow.
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Published By:
Abhishek De
Published On:
Jul 24, 2026 16:48 IST
