Sone Lal Patel (2 July 1950 – 18 October 2009) was an Indian politician active in the state of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. He was the founder of the political party
Apna Dal and one of the founding members of the
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
.
He staunchly opposed casteism and fought against social inequality.
Early life
Sone Lal Patel was born on 2 July 1950 in Bagulihai village,
Kannauj district, into a
Kurmi Hindu family. He obtained an MSc from
Pandit Prithi Nath College,
Kanpur
Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...
, and held a doctorate in physics from
Kanpur University. From an early age, he was a vocal critic of casteism and social inequality prevalent in society. He advocated for social justice and equality.
Political career
Early political career
Sone Lal Patel embarked on his political journey by joining hands with
Chaudhary Charan Singh, actively participating in protests and rallies against social inequality and caste exploitation across the state and other parts of the country. He even endured police brutality during one such protest.
Meeting Kanshiram and BSP
Sone Lal Patel's path crossed with
Kanshi Ram, who was striving to create a social justice movement in North India. Their visions regarding caste-based discrimination and social injustice aligned to a great extent. At the behest of
Kanshi Ram, Patel played a significant role in the establishment of the
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
. He is credited as one of the founders of BSP.
Parting with BSP and founding Apna Dal
Due to dissatisfaction with the resolution and objectives of BSP, he separated from the party. One of the reasons for his disillusionment was Kanshi Ram's overwhelming support for
Mayawati while ignoring other leaders.
In response, driven by his commitment to social causes, he founded the political party
Apna Dal on 4 November 1995. He contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 from
Phulpur (Lok Sabha constituency).
Death and aftermath
Sone Lal Patel met with a tragic road accident in
Kanpur
Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...
in 2009. His daughter,
Anupriya Patel, demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
After his demise, his wife, Krishna Patel, assumed the role of the National President of Apna Dal.
His daughter, Anupriya Patel, was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 from Mirzapur (Lok Sabha constituency). Subsequently, the party split, and Anupriya Patel formed her own party named 'Apna Dal (Sonelal)', winning from Mirzapur again in 2019 in coalition with the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Sone Lal
1950 births
2009 deaths
Road incident deaths in India
Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University alumni
Apna Dal politicians
21st-century Buddhists
Indian Buddhists
Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism
Bahujan Samaj Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh
Accidental deaths in India