Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today passed away at the age of 82. His son and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav confirmed the news to the media a while ago.

Singh was undergoing treatment at the famous Medanta Hospital in Gurugram for a week. The treatment was for a urinary infection, reports said. "The veteran leader's condition was quite critical and he was on life-saving drugs," India Today quoted sources as saying.

Described as a doyen of Indian politics, his death has been described as a huge loss to politics. In his condolence tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, "Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav Ji was a remarkable personality. He was widely admired as a humble and grounded leader who was sensitive to people’s problems. He served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising the ideals of Loknayak JP and Dr. Lohia."

Condoling his demise, author and journalist Swati Chaturvedi wrote, "Mulayam Singh Yadav was a rooted leader and I was always struck by how humble and warm he was. Netaji will be missed."