Akhilesh Yadav, 38, with no experience in public office, became chief minister of India's most populous state on Saturday. Legislators of the Samajwadi Party, which won a majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, chose the son of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav to lead the new government.
Uttar Pradesh, with a population of more than 200 million, sends 80 lawmakers to the 545-member national parliament. The Bahujan Samaj Party of outgoing chief minister Mayawati got a drubbing in the elections, results for which were announced Tuesday. The party claims to represent the Dalits, or lower castes.
Analysts said the young Yadav faces a challenge to manage a state where corruption affects governance at all levels, violence is endemic and caste rivalries dominate politics. "It is a tough job, he has never held public office before. But if he succeeds in proving to the people that they did not make a mistake in choosing him we could see the rise of a new long-term leader in Indian politics," political commentator Shekhar Gupta said. Yadav promised to addressed a televised press briefing said law and order would be a priority for him as chief minister. "Good, honest officers will soon be in place," he said.
Yadav, who holds a degree in environmental engineering from Australia's University of Sydney, thanked voters for rising above caste and religious considerations as he promised to clean up government. Elections in five states early this year were seen as a test for national elections scheduled for 2014. The Indian National Congress party, which leads the federal coalition government, fared poorly in all the states except tiny Manipur where it retained a majority.
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