Anupriya Patel: News

Born on April 29, 1981, in Kanpur, Anupriya Patel is the head of the Apna Dal (Sonelal) party. In a country and state where caste equations determine election results and ministries, Patel’s party represents other backward classes in Uttar Pradesh. Anupriya Patel broke into the highest leadership position after the death of her father Sone Lal Patel in 2009. The first time she tried her hand in electoral politics was in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections where she fought the elections from the Rohaniya constituency and won. In the 2014 general elections, she fought in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. She won the elections from Mirzapur. She was appointed as the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in 2016. Patel, however, resigned from the post in protest against the lack of a separate ministry for other backward classes. An alumna of Lady Shriram College for Women and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Patel has a post-graduate in psychology and business administration. She made a return to Modi 2.0 cabinet as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the cabinet reshuffle in 2021 after winning from Mirzapur in 2019.