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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why Anupriya Patel's party has placed a little-known Dalit leader at the helm in UP
Though the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are a couple of years away, parties in the state are already jostling for the all-important Dalit vote, with a OBC party like BJP ally Apna Dal (Soneylal) that draws its support from mostly the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Kurmi community also making efforts to reach out to Dalit communities. To that end, the party on May 29 appointed R P Gautam, a Jatav leader, as its state president. Gautam is from Sitapur and currently serves as the president of the Apna Dal's cooperative wing. Since he is little known — he has not contested any election till now — the party is planning to increase his visibility among people through public meetings that party chief and Union Minister Anupriya Patel is also likely to attend. According to insiders, Gautam's name was finalised after a group of top party leaders, including Anupriya and Uttar Pradesh Minister Ashish Patel, her husband, held a series of meetings in Delhi and Lucknow over the last month. Explaining why Gautam was chosen, a party leader said, 'Other Dalit sub-castes are scattered and are concentrated in certain regions and districts, but Jatavs are spread across all 403 Assembly constituencies of the state and number around 30,000-50,000 in each seat.' The move comes close on the heels of the Samajwadi Party (SP) stepping up its efforts to reach out to Dalits and inducting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder-member Daddu Prasad. The party also held week-long celebrations to commemorate Dr B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14. Recently, when its MP Ramji Lal Suman came under fire for his alleged derogatory comments on Rajput king Rana Sanga, the SP countered by saying the attacks were 'anti-Dalit'. Dalits make up 21% of Uttar Pradesh's population, of which Jatavs make up 14%, followed by the Pasis at 7%. While Jatavs are seen to be the core voter base of the Mayawati-led BSP, Pasis have rallied behind the SP since last year's Lok Sabha elections. After bagging the most parliamentary seats from UP, the SP promoted Faizabad MP Awadesh Prasad, who belongs to the community. Another Apna Dal said that support from the Jatavs, combined with the party's core Kurmi and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) support base, will put it in a good position in next year's local body elections as well as the Assembly polls. At present, the party has 13 MLAs while Anupriya is its sole Lok Sabha MP. Senior Apnal Dal leaders pointed to the successes the BSP achieved when its Jatav support base combined with OBC faces such as Ram Khelawan Verma, Babu Singh Kushwaha, and Lalji Verma. The social combination, according to the leader, has been the foundation of the Apna Dal since its inception in November 1995 by Sonelal Patel who, he said, was an avid follower of BSP founder Kanshi Ram. Though Sonelal Patel did not win any election, he made his presence felt in the state's politics and rose to become a Kurmi face. The Apna Dal currently holds sway in areas such as Prayagraj, Kaushambi and its adjoining districts. Ashish Patel said the Apna Dal's foundational value was always uplifting the suppressed classes. 'Of our 13 legislators, five are from Dalit communities (three Jatavs, one Kol and one Pasi), five from the Kurmi community and one each from the Brahmin, Muslim and Sonar communities. This is evidence that our party gives representation to all the communities,' he said. Though it came as a surprise to many that Gautam was appointed, it is not the first time that the party has chosen a Dalit leader to helm its Uttar Pradesh unit. Earlier, Jamuna Prasad Saroj, a Pasi leader, led the state unit. The rejig was necessitated after the party's state executive was dissolved about a year ago following the resignation of former state chief Rajkumar Pal, an OBC leader. Alleging that Ashish and Anupriya Patel were 'ignoring' him and 'not keeping him in the loop' about party affairs, Pal had said in his resignation letter that the party had deviated from the ideology of Ambedkar and Sonelal Patel. A senior Apna Dal leader said Pal's 'odd behaviour and other activities' had led to the state executive being dissolved and claimed that the former state chief 'had been warned several times' about his actions.
India.com
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet Anupriya Rathore, RBSE Class 12 Arts topper, who scored 498 marks out of 500; she got 100 in…, her lowest marks was...
The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE), Ajmer, has announced the RBSE 12th Result 2025 on Thursday, May 22. Candidates can download the RBSE Rajasthan Board 12th Result 2025 by visiting the official website at The Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Result 2025 has been announced for the Arts, Science, and Commerce streams. This year, Anupriya Rathore has cracked the RBSE class 12th Arts stream 2025 examination. She secured a 99.60% mark. Meanwhile, the overall pass percentage in the Arts Stream was 97.70%. Anupriya Rathore, a student of Aggarwal Girls Senior Secondary School in Madanganj, Kishangarh, has made her school and community proud by emerging as the RBSE Class 12 Arts stream topper. This year's results were exceptional, with an overall pass percentage of 97.78%. Girls outshone boys once again, with a pass rate of 98.42%, compared to 97.09% for boys. Leading the way in the Arts stream, Anupriya, along with fellow toppers Priyanka, Urmila, and Pragati, achieved an incredible score of 99.60% — a remarkable feat that reflects their dedication and hard work. While speaking to NDTV, Anupriya expressed her heartfelt gratitude to her parents, family, and teachers for their constant support. She shared that her preparation involved regularly revising lessons taught in school and practicing previous years' question papers. Whenever she faced challenges, she reached out to her teachers, who helped her clear her doubts. Anupriya also credited her parents for their unwavering encouragement, saying their belief in her kept her motivated throughout the journey. According to media reports, a marksheet claiming to belong to RBSE Class 12 Arts topper Anupriya Rathore has recently gone viral on social media. The document is being widely shared online, with many users believing it to be her official scorecard. As per the marksheet, Anupriya reportedly scored a perfect 100 in Hindi (Compulsory) and Political Science. In English (Compulsory) and English Literature, she secured 99 marks each. For Geography, she reportedly said to have scored 100 marks. Bhagirath Choudhary Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India took to X(previously Twitter), to congratulate her. He wrote, 'I am proud of my daughters…! In the class 12th examination results declared today by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, Kishangarh's daughter Anupriya Rathore has brought laurels to Kishangarh and her family by securing first place in Rajasthan by scoring 99.60% marks in Arts.' According to report, she scored 498 marks out of secured first division and she obtained 99.60 per cent.
The Print
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Why Raj Kumar Pal stepped down as UP chief of Apna Dal (S), a ‘2-personality show'
'I gave my best in the last three years. I was not a selected state president, but an elected one, as I had won our state body polls. I tried to bring democracy into the set-up, but it is a one-man show, or we can say a two-personality show. Ashish and Anupriya run the party. The state chief and other functionaries have no say in the party. I cannot work as a 'rubber stamp' anymore,' he told ThePrint.. Pal, a former MLA from Pratapgarh, told ThePrint that the organisation was being expanded by the party's top brass without his involvement in the exercise. He said that the party's state executive was not revived after remaining dissolved for over one year. He also accused Anupriya's husband and UP cabinet minister, Ashish Patel, of using foul language with party workers. Lucknow: In a setback for Union Minister and Apna Dal (Sonelal) chief Anupriya Patel, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit chief Raj Kumar Pal has resigned for being 'neglected' by the party, accusing Anupriya of deviating from the principles of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar and party ideologue Sonelal Patel in his resignation letter, submitted Tuesday. 'The whole party system has been ruined by Ashish Patel. He misbehaves with district-level leaders and workers. Politics is not a corporate job, where one can bear any rubbish thing.' The party functionaries have denied the charges levelled by Pal. Ashish said, 'Pal's allegations are completely false. He only wanted a ticket for himself from one seat of Pratapgarh, but this time that particular seat was likely to go to the BJP, so he would not be able to contest polls. That is why he decided to resign. If the situation was that bad, what was he doing at the party for so many years?' ThePrint has, however, learnt that Pal is likely to join the Samajwadi Party. According to a senior functionary in SP, 'Pal is in touch with the party's top leadership. He is likely to get a green signal from there soon, but nothing has been finalised yet.' Speaking to ThePrint, Pal also praised Pallavi Patel, leader of the faction Apna Dal (Kamerwadi), and sister of Anupriya. 'She is more skilled and has struggled a lot more than Anupriya,' he said. He added, 'Anupriya and Ashish captured Sonelal Patel's legacy, but have not done anything for OBCs (Other Backward Classes). My community, Pal Samaj, has over 20,000 votes in at least 100 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, but they have not done anything for them. I will go where my samaj gets respect. Both SP and BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) have a state president from Pal samaj. Other parties should also learn from them.' The Pal community in Uttar Pradesh is among the most backward caste groups, known as the Gadaria and Baghel castes. The community is dominant in the districts of Brij and Rohilkhand areas of the state. According to Apna Dal (S) functionaries, the key reason behind making Pal a state unit chief was that the party wanted to look beyond the Kurmis, its support base. However, instead of focusing on organisational activities, Pal was pressuring the party high command to give him an assembly election ticket, they said. 'Now, Pal's allegations have dealt a big blow to the party cadre as complaints of neglect of local leaders are coming up from several district units. It should be addressed by the party high command,' a local leader told ThePrint. Pal, 61, was formerly with the Bharatiya Janata Party, but in 2019, he won the bypolls on an Apna Dal (S) ticket from the Pratapgarh seat, which had been vacated by Sangam Lal Gupta—who had moved from Apna Dal to BJP—following his election to Lok Sabha in 2019. In the 2022 assembly polls, when the SP & Apna Dal (K) alliance fielded Krishna Patel (Anupriya's mother) from that seat, Apna Dal (S) decided not to contest there. The BJP fielded Rajendra Maurya, who won the seat. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Half face Ambedkar, half face Akhilesh: BJP, BSP slam SP poster for 'hurting Dalit sentiments'
