Adityanath, Keshav Maurya pay tributes to Sonelal Patel on his death anniversary

PTI, Oct 17, 2023, 3:31 PM IST

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday paid tributes to Apna Dal founder and influential OBC leader Sonelal Patel on his death anniversary.

In a post on ‘X’, Adityanath said, ”There has been a comprehensive change in ‘New India’ on social issues on which he remained vocal throughout his life. His struggle for the exploited and the neglected is unforgettable.” Maurya said Patel was a pioneer of social justice and harmony who struggled throughout his life for farmers, the extremely backward, the deprived and the exploited people.

Both the factions of the Apna Dal — Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Apna Dal (Kameravadi) — paid tributes to Sonelal Patel on his death anniversary.

A statement issued by the Apna Dal (Sonelal), a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), said a ‘Sankalp Sabha’ has been organised on the Government Inter College (GIC) ground in Pratapgarh district.

National president of Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel will address the meeting, it said.

Apna Dal (Kameravadi) president Krishna Patel said the party will pay tributes to Sonelal Patel at all district headquarters and will demand a CBI inquiry into his death. Apna Dal was founded by Sonelal Patel in 1995.

Born on July 2, 1950, in Bagulihai village in Kannauj district, Sonelal Patel was a close companion of BSP founder Kanshi Ram. He died in a road accident in 2009.

In October 2014, fissures within the Apna Dal became public for the first time as its then-national general secretary Anupriya Patel was removed from her post.

Later, the two Apna Dal factions aligned with rival groupings led by the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.

The Apna Dal (Sonelal) has 13 MLAs and two MPs, including Anupriya Patel. Her husband Ashish Patel is a cabinet minister in the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh.

The rival faction, Apna Dal-Kamerwadi, is led by her mother Krishna Patel and elder sister Pallavi Patel.