Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star
evolving world of an open economy and that is his appeal."
Football and laptops
At a news conference on election day in Lucknow, the capital of the northern state on the Gangetic plains, Yadav said law and order was the party's top priority.
"Akhilesh has definitely become a phenomenon," said political analyst Kuldip Nayar. "The perception of the party as being a party of goons has definitely changed."
A former wrestler, Mulayam Singh Yadav first became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989, relying on the votes of farmers from his Yadav caste and Muslims.
His party has a colourful history. "Bandit Queen" Phoolan Devi, an outlaw who rampaged through Uttar Pradesh in the 1980s, joined the Samajwadi Party and was elected to parliament before she was gunned down.
But to many, the Samajwadi Party had become a tired brand that jarred with India's rise as a tech- savvy, English- speaking, emerging economic giant. It used to campaign against computers on the grounds that they destroyed jobs, and against teaching English in schools.
Akhilesh Yadav appears to have changed that. Although born in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav finished his education in Sydney, Australia, and speaks fluent English, although he is still careful to answer media questions in Hindi.
In cricket-mad India, he loves football and supports the English club Manchester United.
In the run-up to the 2012 campaign, he admitted to mistakes the party had made in the past and commissioned a series of surveys on how the party was viewed in the state.
"Akhilesh Yadav was the poster boy for the Samajwadi Party in this campaign and he was the face that helped people to put behind them the unpleasant memories they had of the previous SP rule," said Siddharth Varadarajan, editor of the Hindu newspaper.
Instead of attacking technology, he promised free laptops to students. The party now has its own Facebook page.