Political party in India
Indian political party
The Samajwadi Party (abbr. SP; translation: Socialist Party, founded 4 November, 1992) is a socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi. It is mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as well.[15] With a secular and democratic ideology, the Samajwadi Party believes in creating a socialist society, which works on the principle of equality. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, the party won a 32.06% vote share with 111 seats, the highest vote share in party history. The party was able form the government 3 times, with one full majority since 2012 in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The party was fifth-largest by vote share since the 2019 general elections but it acquired less seats as compared to other parties due to the constituency-based electoral system.
History
The Samajwadi Party was one of several parties that emerged when the Janata Dal (People's League) fragmented into several regional parties.[16] The party was founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1992. Created just months before the Babri Masjid demolition, the party is said to having played a key role in preventing violence within the state following the event.[17] The Samajwadi Party is now led by former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav after he was chosen the President by the National Convention held on 1 January, 2017.
The Samajwadi Party is primarily based in Uttar Pradesh State. It has contested Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections around the country, though its successes have been mainly in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2012 legislative assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh, SP registered a landslide victory with a clear majority in the House, thus enabling it to form a government in the state. This was expected to be the fifth term of Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister of state, but he selected his son, Akhilesh Yadav, instead. It became official on 15 March. It was also the first time that SP was head of the UP government for a full term of 5 years.[18][19] However, the party suffered a landslide defeat in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Election, slumping to only 47 seats as the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to victory.
Proposed merger
In 2014, there was a proposed merger of Samajwadi Party with some other Janata Parivar parties uniting with Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar.[20][21]
National Convention of January 2017
In a National Convention held on 1 January 2017 called by Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav was appointed as president of the party.
Position in state and national politics
The Samajwadi Party provided outside support to the United Progressive Alliance government up to the fourteenth general election. After the fourteenth general election, its support became unnecessary when the UPA became the largest alliance. It contested the 2009 general election in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party of Bihar.[22]
In the last general election, the Samajwadi Party was defeated by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.[citation needed] It is currently the thirteenth largest party in parliament.[23] In the general elections of 2019, it won only 5 seats, while the Indian National Congress gained 52 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party obtained a clear mandate with 303 seats.
In West Bengal, the West Bengal Socialist Party of Kiranmoy Nanda merged with the SP. The SP has two MLAs each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
In April 2014, the Save Indian Family Foundation encouraged voters to support the Samajwadi Party or vote None of the above because the Samajwadi Party had stated that it opposed the alleged misuse of gender bias laws.[24]
Samajwadi Prahari and Samajwadi Sanwad
The Samajwadi Party has Samajwadi Prahari[25] frontline groups.Party has leading leaders from different fields Through Samajwadi Sanwad, the revolutionary ideas of these leaders will be spread in the society. Some of them are:
- Chhatra Sabha Sanwad
- Yuvjan Sabha Sanwad
- Samajwadi prahari Sanwad
- Mulayam Singh Youth Brigade Sanwad
- Lohiya Vahini Sanwad
- Shikshak Sabha Sanwad
- Vyapar Sabha Sanwad
- Adhivakta Sabha Sanwad
- Ambedkar Vahini Samwad
List of Chief Ministers
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017, Akhilesh Yadav
- ^ This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
