Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Apna Dal (Kamerawadi)
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| Abbreviation | AD(K) |
| President | Krishna Patel |
| Founder | Chaudhary Balihari Patel Sone Lal Patel |
| Founded | 4 November 1995 |
| Headquarters | 126/17-B, B. N. Road Lalbagh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Ideology | Social justice Women's rights Inclusive Governance |
| National affiliation |
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| Colours | Orange/Blue |
| Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha |
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| Party flag | |
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Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) is a political party in India. It mostly works in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A political party is a group of people who share similar ideas about how to run a country or state. They work together to win elections and make laws.
Contents
How Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) Started
Apna Dal was started on November 4, 1995. It was founded by Sone Lal Patel and Chaudhary Balihari Patel. They used to work closely with Kanshi Ram, another important leader. They even helped start the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) together.
However, some people in the BSP were not happy. They felt that Kanshi Ram was giving too much importance to Mayawati. Many party workers who had worked hard to build the BSP were disappointed. Mayawati's way of doing things also bothered them.
Things changed in 1995 when the BSP got a chance to lead a government in Uttar Pradesh. Kanshi Ram chose Mayawati to be the Chief Minister. This government lasted only a short time, from June to October 1995. But the disagreements inside the party grew during this period.
Because of these issues, many people left the BSP. They decided to form a new political party. This new party was the Apna Dal. It was founded by Chaudhary Balihari Patel and Dr. Sone Lal Patel in November 1995. This was less than three weeks after Mayawati's government ended.
The BSP mainly focused on the rights of dalits. Dalit is a term for a group of people who were historically disadvantaged in India. Apna Dal wanted to be a party for all groups of people and all religions. To show this, the Apna Dal flag has two colors: saffron and blue. Saffron is a color often linked to Hinduism. Blue is increasingly seen as the color of dalits and followers of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The Election Commission gave "cup and saucer" as the official symbol for Apna Dal. This symbol is used when they take part in elections.
Party's Journey and Successes
Early Years Under Sone Lal Patel
Apna Dal became well-known in the Varanasi-Mirzapur area. This was the home region of Sone Lal Patel. The party held its first big public meeting, called a "maha-rally," in Beniabag, Varanasi. Hundreds of thousands of people attended this event. On August 23, 1999, during the BJP government, many protesting party workers were beaten by the police.
However, the party's election results were not always strong. In 2002, seven years after the party started, a politician named Atiq Ahmed won a state assembly election. He won from the Allahabad constituency as an Apna Dal candidate. The party did not win any seats in the 2009 Indian general election. They also did not win any seats in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Growth Under Anupriya Patel
In October 2009, Dr. Sone Lal Patel sadly died in a car accident. This happened just twenty days after his elder daughter, Anupriya Patel Singh, got married. His wife, Krishna Patel, became the party president. She continued the party's work. During these years, her elder daughter Anupriya Patel Singh and her husband, Ashish Singh, also worked for the party. Family and party sources say they tried hard to take control of the party. Krishna Singh and other family members did not agree with this.
In the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the party had electoral success. Anupriya Patel Singh won the assembly election seat from Rohaniya constituency. This area is near Varanasi. For this election, the party joined with other smaller groups. One of these was the Peace Party of India, which focused on Muslim voters.
Two years later, the party decided to leave its Muslim election partners. They sought an alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP was becoming very strong in the state. On March 25, 2014, Apna Dal joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). They announced their election plan. They would compete for two seats (Mirzapur and Pratapgarh) as part of the NDA. They would support the BJP in all other areas in Uttar Pradesh.
Thanks to this alliance, Apna Dal won both seats in the 2014 general elections. Harivansh Singh won from Pratapgarh. Anupriya Patel Singh won from Mirzapur. Also, Rakesh Kumar Verma of Apna Dal won a special election for the Vishwanathganj assembly seat. This election happened at the same time as the parliamentary election. Before this, the party had never won a seat in parliament. They had hardly won any seats in the state assembly. The success they achieved with the BJP alliance was very impressive.
Party and Family Disagreements
After winning the election for parliament from Mirzapur, Anupriya Patel Singh left her state assembly seat. This meant a new election for the Rohaniya seat was needed. Anupriya wanted her husband, Ashish Singh, to be the party's candidate for this election. However, the Apna Dal's main committee, led by her mother Krishna Singh, decided that Krishna Singh should be the candidate.
This decision was made to reduce the influence of Anupriya and her husband in party matters. They were taking charge of things without being asked or given permission. Krishna Singh and her younger daughter did not like this. In the special election held in October 2014, Anupriya did not campaign for her mother. Some even said she actively worked for her mother to lose.
Krishna Singh lost the election. This made the tensions and disagreements within the founder's family even worse. Right after, Krishna removed her daughter from the position of party general secretary. The gap between them grew over the next few months. On May 7, 2015, Anupriya and six of her helpers were removed from the party. This was for activities that went against the party. A new party called Apna Dal (Sonelal) was registered on December 14, 2016. This new party has the support of Anupriya Patel. This showed that the original Apna Dal was splitting into two.
Alliances in Recent Years (2020s)
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) joined forces with the Samajwadi Party. Dr. Pallavi Patel, a candidate from the party, won against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. She won by 7,337 votes in the Sirathu area.
In 2023, the party joined the Indian National Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). This alliance was formed to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party-dominated National Democratic Alliance. In 2024, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) left the INDIA alliance. They formed a new alliance with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. This new group is called Pichda Dalit Muslim.
See Also
- Apna Dal (Sonelal)
