Samajwadi Party

Samajwadi Party
Chairperson	Akhilesh Yadav
Secretary-General	Kiranmoy Nanda
Leader in Lok Sabha	Mulayam Singh
Leader in Rajya Sabha	Ram Gopal Yadav
Founded	October 4, 1992
Headquarters	18 Copernicus Lane, New Delhi
Ideology	Populism Democratic socialism Secularism Social conservatism
Political position	Centre
Seats in Lok Sabha	22 / 545
Seats in Rajya Sabha	8 / 245
Seats in UP Legislative Assembly	224 / 403
Election symbol
Website
Official Website
Politics of India Political parties Elections

Samajwadi Party (literally, Socialist Party) is a regional political party in India based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh founded on October 4, 1992. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party and is mainly representing the interests of a caste grouping called Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The Samajwadi Party was one of several parties that emerged when the Janata Dal (People's League), India's primary opposition party prior to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), fragmented into several regional parties. The Samajwadi Party is led by aging former wrestler Mulayam Singh Yadav, a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and former defence minister of the country.

Electoral record

The Samajwadi Party is primarily based in Uttar Pradesh. Its support is largely based on OBCs (Other Backward Castes), particularly Mulayam Singh Yadav's own Yadav caste, and Muslims. It has contested Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections around the country, though its successes have been mainly in Uttar Pradesh. In the assembly election in Madhya Pradesh in 2003, the Samajwadi Party gained 7 seats, making it the third largest party in the state. When its candidate won the by-election of Lanji (Balaghat) in 2007, its total tally reached 8.

In the 15th Lok Sabha;It currently has 22 members, making it the third largest party in that house.

In 2005, former Karnataka Chief Minister Bangarappa resigned from the BJP to join the Samajwadi Party. He successfully held his Lok Sabha seat, Shimoga, on the Samajwadi ticket.

In the 2007 Uttar Pradesh legislative election, the SP won only 96 seats as compared to 146 in the previous election. As a result, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had to resign, with his rival Mayawati, leader of the BSP (which won a majority of 207 seats), sworn in as the Chief Minister.

In the 2012 legislative assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh, it registered a landslide victory with a clear majority in the House, thus enabling it to form the Government in the state. This was expected to be the fifth term of Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister of state. But Mulayam Singh Yadav himself surprised everyone by selecting his son Akhilesh Yadav to be the new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.After he officially became the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on March 15,he is the youngest ever Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.It is also the first time SP heads the UP government for full term of 5 years.

Position in state and national politics

Samajawadi Party has been providing support to the Indian National Congress (INC) led UPA Government from outside. However it contested the 2009 general election with in an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party of Bihar.

The Samajwadi Party still supports the central UPA Government from outside at the national level. It is currently the third-largest party in parliament.^{[citation needed]} But its main rival in Uttar Pradesh is Mayawati's Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), which has emerged as a major political force in the state. The BSP primarily focuses on Dalit and backward caste votes. The Samajwadi Party continues to be the third largest party. In general elections in 2009, it bagged 23 seats, coming behind the Indian National Congress with 206 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party with 116 seats.

In West Bengal, West Bengal Socialist Party of Kiranmoy Nanda had merged with SP. As of now, SP has one MLA in West Bengal, three MLAs in Maharashtra, two MLAs in Bihar and one MLA (after 2008 polls) in Madhya Pradesh.

Kranti Rath Yatra & Cycle Rally

State President of the Samajwadi party Akhilesh Yadav conducted a 3-day cycle yatra (march) from Noida to Agra to protest unauthorized land acquisition by the Mayawati government. His first day's journey was from Noida to Jewar and second day's was Tappal to Mathura. During his visit he assured farmers that no one can acquire their land without their consent and the first right on land is that of farmers.

Hundreds of cycles and a large number of youth travelled with him from Noida to Agra. His cycle and Kranti Rath Yatras set the momentum for the election. view the cycle rally

Young member of parliament and state president of the Samajwadi Party Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Singh Yadav launched his Samajwadi Kranti Rath Yatra on September 12, 2011 from Lucknow, keeping in mind the upcoming election in 2012. He started the first phase from Lucknow to Kanpur and second phase in Bundelkhand kranti rath Yatra Program. Due to corruption in the state, SP gen next leader yatra was a crowd-puller in the Bundelkhand region.

Assembly elections held in Uttar Pradesh in April 2012 saw the Samajwadi Party coming back to power with a landslide majority. The main issues during the election were Corruption and Development, both of which did not favour the then ruling party,BSP(Bahujan Samaj Party).

Noted SP figures

• Mulayam Singh, Founder,M.P Lok Sabha first National President ex-Central Union Defence Minister and ex-Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
• Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and State President of Uttar Pradesh
• Azam Khan, Senior Cabinate Minister National General Secretary
• Ram Gopal Yadav, General Secretary, MP and Rajya Sabha spokesperson
• Shivpal Singh Yadav, senior member, P.W.D Minister in Uttar Pradesh Government.
• Dharmendra Yadav,M.P Lok Sabha
• Rakesh Sachan, M.P. Lok Sabha Fatehpur
• Syed Qasim Hasan , M.L.A, Fatehpur Sadar

External links

• Official Samajwadi Party Website
• Information About Uttar Pradesh Elections
• 2012 UP elections