Awadhesh Prasad | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Lallu Singh,BJP |
| Constituency | Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh |
| Cabinet Minister Government of Uttar Pradesh | |
| In office 2012–2017 | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Ministry & Department's |
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| In office 2003–2007 | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Ministry & Department's |
|
| In office 1993–1995 | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Ministry & Department's |
|
| In office 1989–1991 | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Ministry & Department's |
|
| Minister of State Government of Uttar Pradesh | |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Chief Minister |
|
| Ministry & Department's |
|
| Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 10 March 2022 – 11 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Baba Gorakhnath,BJP |
| Succeeded by | Chandrabhanu Paswan,BJP |
| Constituency | Milkipur (SC) |
| In office 2012–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Anand Sen Yadav,SP |
| Succeeded by | Baba Gorakhnath,BJP |
| Constituency | Milkipur (SC) |
| In office 1993–2012 | |
| Preceded by | Ramu Priyadarshi,BJP |
| Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Sohawal (SC) |
| In office 1985–1991 | |
| Preceded by | Madho Prasad,INC(I) |
| Succeeded by | Ramu Priyadarshi,BJP |
| Constituency | Sohawal (SC) |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Hub Raj,INC |
| Succeeded by | Madho Prasad,INC(I) |
| Constituency | Sohawal (SC) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1945-07-31)31 July 1945 (age 80) |
| Political party | Samajwadi Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7 |
| Residence | Sahadatt Ganj, Sadar, Ayodhya |
| Alma mater | Lucknow University (LLB, 1968) DAV College, Kanpur,Agra University (MA, 1966) |
Awadhesh Prasad (born 31 July 1945) is an Indian politician who is a founding member of theSamajwadi Party (SP) and anMP in the18th Lok Sabha representingFaizabad.[1][2] He is presently the general secretary of the national executive of SP and he was a member of theUttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly till 11 June 2024 when he was elected as an MP.[3] He has been a nine time MLA elected from the erstwhile Sohawal (SC) constituency in1977,1985,1989,1993,1996,2002 and2007 and as of latest fromMilkipur (SC) in2012 and2022.[4] He has become a minister for six times in theGovernment of Uttar Pradesh and been a cabinet minister in four of them.[1]
Prasad, who comes fromPasi Dalit community,[5] began his political career at the age of 21. He was the Ayodhya district co-convener of theanti-Emergency Sangarsh Samiti. He was also the polling agent of theLok Dal atAmethi during the1977 Indian general election. He became the national secretary and was inducted into the central parliamentary board when the Samajwadi Party was founded in 1992. In the party, he has generally functioned as an organisation man since then.[1]
He became minister in theJanata Party governments ofRam Naresh Yadav andBabu Banarasi Das and in the Samajwadi Party governments ofMulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav.[1] He has a close association with the party presidentAkhilesh Yadav and was one of the few veteran leaders to have sided with him during the pre-2017 election leadership contest within the party.[3]
In the2024 Indian general election Prasad won[6] as theMember of Parliament from theFaizabad Lok Sabha constituency.[7] This win has been seen as of deep interest within the2024 Indian general election because it encompasses the city ofAyodhya where resides theRam Temple which was set-up in the previous term (2019-2024). Though, the BJP led fromAyodhya Assembly constituency, it failed to win the seat. Analysts credited his win to failure of BJP'sAbki Baar 400 Paar slogan andSamajwadi Party's strategy of leveraging social politics by capitalizing on the significant OBC voter base, includingKurmis andYadavs, aligningOBCs,Dalits, andMuslims to edge out the BJP.[5]
However, in 2025, he suffered a setback when his son Ajeet Prasad lost from his traditional stronghold ofMilkipur Assembly constituency in2025 Milkipur by-election by over 61,000 votes to BJP candidateChandrabhanu Paswan.
| Year | Party | Constituency Name | Result | Votes gained | Vote share% | Margin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | BKD | Sohawal | Lost | 18,879 | 34.70% | 689 | |
| 1977 | JP | Won | 28,090 | 58.42% | 10,578 | ||
| 1980 | JP(S) | Lost | 21,932 | 40.72% | 4,071 | ||
| 1985 | LD | Won | 27,373 | 46.29% | 9,147 | ||
| 1989 | JD | Won | 29,413 | 33.91% | 10,032 | ||
| 1991 | JP | Lost | 22,047 | 24.90% | 9,643 | ||
| 1993 | SP | Won | 59,115 | 51.77% | 16,496 | ||
| 1996 | Won | 44,399 | 35.17% | 3,407 | |||
| 2002 | Won | 43,398 | 35.36% | 8,156 | |||
| 2007 | Won | 48,624 | 33.08% | 9,871 | |||
| 2012 | Milkipur | Won | 73,804 | 42.24% | 34,237 | ||
| 2017 | Lost | 58,684 | 29.77% | 28,276 | |||
| 2022 | Won | 103,905 | 47.99% | 13,338 | |||
| Year | Party | Constituency Name | Result | Votes gained | Vote share% | Margin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | SP | Akbarpur | Lost | 169,046 | 27.12% | 30,749 | |
| 2024[8][9] | Faizabad (Ayodhya) | Won | 554,289 | 48.59% | 54,567 | ||