Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav exchange greetings during the pre-wedding ceremony. (Press Trust of India Photo)
Equipped with sweets, gifts and a large retinue of relatives, Lalu Yadav, Bihar politician, was in Lucknow over the weekend to visit Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party governs India's largest state.
The two Yadavs have mixed and matched personal and political alliances this month. Lalu's is among six socialist parties that have tasked Mulayam, 75, to manage their merger into a front whose immediate goal is to check the ruling BJP from winning more state elections.
There's also another partnership being forged. Next week, Lalu's youngest daughter, Rajalaxmi, is to be engaged in Delhi to Mulayam's grand-nephew, Tej Pratap, who won his first parliamentary election in May. "We have brought our hearts as gifts," said Lalu, offering evidence of his much-acclaimed skill at quipping.
"Now our dear Laluji is a relative, this bond will continue for generations. We welcome him," said Mulayam after Lalu visited him at his Vikramaditya Marg residence.
The bride-to-be did not accompany her father to Lucknow. Tej's father is Mulayam's elder brother's son.
The young couple met and fell in love at Amity University in Noida, near Delhi. Their wedding is scheduled for February.