Anupriya Singh Patel (born 28 April 1981)[2] is an Indian politician, teacher and social worker from the state ofUttar Pradesh who is the president ofApna Dal (Soneylal) party since 2016 and theminister of State for Commerce and Industry of India since 7 July 2021 till 4 June 2024.[3] She has representedMirzapur in theLok Sabha since 2014. She was the minister of state in theMinistry of Health and Family Welfare,government of India from 2016 to 2019.[4] She was previously elected as amember of the Legislative Assembly for theRohaniya constituency of thelegislature of Uttar Pradesh inVaranasi, where she had fought campaigns in alliance with thePeace Party of India and theBundelkhand Congress from 2012 to 2014.[5][6]
Anupriya Patel is the daughter ofSone Lal Patel, who founded theApna Dal (Sonelal) political party that is based inUttar Pradesh.[7] She belongs toKurmi community.[8][9] She was educated atLady Shri Ram College for Women andChhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University,[10] formerlyKanpur University. She has a master's degrees in Psychology and also Masters in Business Administration (MBA),[11] and has taught at Amity.[5]
Patel has been president of Apna Dal since the death of her father in October 2009.[5] In 2012, she was elected as the member ofUttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election for theRohaniya constituency inVaranasi.[12]
In the 2014 general election, Patel's party campaigned in alliance with theBharatiya Janata Party, led byNarendra Modi. She was elected asMember of Parliament fromMirzapur constituency. After the election, there were rumours that the two parties would merge but Patel rejected overtures intended to result in that.[4]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by post established | Leader of theApna Dal (Sonelal) Party in the16th Lok Sabha 2014–present | Incumbent |
