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Who is Anupriya Patel?
Born in 1981, Anupriya Patel is presently one of the most popular female politicians of Uttar Pradesh. Currently, she is the President of the Apna Dal (Soneylal) and MoS for Commerce & Industry in the Modi Cabinet. She is also a Lok Sabha MP from Mirzapur, UP.
Personal Life
Patel comes from the Kurmi community and is the daughter of Sone Lal Patel, who is the founder of Apna Dal (S). She attended Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi and Kanpur-based Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University. Patel is an MBA graduate and has taught at Amity University as well. In 2009, she got married to Ashish Patel, who is a Cabinet minister in the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh govt.
Political Career
Political Career
Patel took over the party reins after her father's death in 2009. In 2012, she got elected as an MLA from Rohaniya constituency in Varanasi. Interestingly, Apna Dal fought this election in an alliance with the UP-based Peace Party of India, which primarily raises issues pertaining to the Muslim community.
Ahead of 2014 LS polls, Patel joined the BJP-led NDA and won from Mirzapur constituency by a margin of over 2 lakh votes. She again won from Mirzapur in the 2019 and 2024 General Elections. However, her victory margin in 2024 was less than 40,000.
She has been an MoS in the first Modi govt (2014-19) as well as in the second Modi govt (2019-24).
Patel's party has stood firmly with the BJP-led NDA as they have together contested in 2017 and 2022 UP Assembly elections. In both these polls, BJP registered a comprehensive victory.
Her party is primarily confined to eastern UP districts of Mirzapur and Robertsganj, and also has some influence in the nearby districts.
Controversy
Patel had a fallout with her mother, Krishna Patel, in 2014 and by 2016, there was split in Apna Dal, The relift led to the formation of two new parties namely Apna Dal (S) and Krishna-led Apna Dal (Kamerawadi). The rift started after Krishna Patel lost a UP bypoll election in which Anupriya didn't campaign for her mother and even reportedly worked to ensure her defeat. The dispute between Krishna and Anupriya over the party is still in court.
The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) fought the 2022 UP Assembly polls in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Interestingly, Apna Dal (K) fielded Anurpiya's sister Pallavi Patel against BJP heavyweight Keshav Prasad Maurya from Kaushambi' Sirathu seat, which the latter surprisingly lost.