Sone Lal Patel,

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sone Lal Patel

• Sone Lal Patel started his political journey in the 1970-80s by participating alongside Chaudhary Charan Singh in protests and rallies against social inequality and caste exploitation in the country. He was once beaten by police during one of these protest.

• He fought for the representation of Kurmis in the politics in Uttar Pradesh. He roamed across the state to unite the people belonging to the Kurmi caste and motivated them to participate in politics. He had a significant influence over the Kurmi vote bank in the state.

  

• He later met the politician and social reformer Kanshi Ram, who was also against social injustice and caste discrimination. In 1985, Patel helped Kanshi Ram establish the Bahujan Samaj Party.

• In 1992, he led the Kanpur unit of BSP.

• Later, Patel left the Bahujan Samaj Party due to discontent with the party’s resolutions and objectives. Another reason behind his separation from the party was Kanshi Ram’s profound support for Mayawati because of which he started ignoring other leaders.

• In 1995, a school, established in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was named after him as Dr. Soney Lal Patel Senior Secondary School.

• On 4 November 1995, he along with Chaudhary Balihari Patel, formed a political party named ‘Apna Dal’ in Uttar Pradesh.

• On 23 August 1999, while Patel was delivering a speech at P D Tandon Park, Allahabad among hundreds of people, the police started beating them and hundreds of worker of Apna Dal were injured. Patel was beaten badly by the police and sent to the jail along with two dozen workers of Apna Dal.

  

• He never won any election in his political career.

• On 18 October 2009, Patel was killed in a tragic car accident. Following his death, his wife, Krishna Patel, was made the National President of the Apna Dal.

• Later, his daughter, Anupriya Patel, demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident. She claimed that her father’s death was not an accident but a murder.

• In 2021, a government hospital and medical college, established in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, was named after him as Dr Sone Lal Patel Autonomous State Medical College.