The Samajwadi Party (abbr.SP;
translation: Socialist Party, founded 4 October 1992) is a
socialist political party in
India. It was founded by formerly
Janata Dal politician
Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in
New Delhi. The Samajwadi Party is currently led by former
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
Akhilesh Yadav. He was chosen as the President for the first time in an Emergency meeting in 2017. He was chosen for second time in 2017 at Agra Convention of Samajwadi Party. He was chosen for the third time at the party's national convention held in September 2022 at Lucknow.[15][16][17]
While the party is largely based in
Uttar Pradesh,[18] it has its definite presence in many other states as well. The party has been the ruling power in the state of Uttar Pradesh for four terms – three times under
Chief MinisterMulayam Singh Yadav, the fourth and most recent being
Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav's full majority government in the 2012-2017 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The coalition of the party and its alliance partners SP+ has one of the largest vote bases in the state of
Uttar Pradesh in terms of the collective voting pattern in the state-based electoral system, with more than 37% vote share in the 2022 elections.[19][20]
History
The Samajwadi Party was one of several parties that emerged when
Janata Dal fragmented into several regional parties.[21] The party was founded by
Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1992.[22][23] Created just months before the
Babri Masjid demolition, the party rose to power by playing secular politics. The support of its key voters, other backward classes and Muslims helped the party become a major political force in Uttar Pradesh.[24] The state government, shot at karsevaks using helicopters to save mosque.[25] According to a video journalist who was caught in the firing, the police were shooting unarmed Hindus at point blank range.[26]
He was chosen as the President for the first time in an Emergency meeting in 2017. He was chosen for second time in 2017 at Agra Convention of Samajwadi Party. He was chosen for the third time at the party's national convention held in September 2022 at Lucknow,[15][16][17] after he was chosen as the President at the party's national convention held on 1 January 2017.
The party have contested
Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections around the country, but by far the bulk of its victories have been 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. This became official on 15 March. It was also the first time that SP was head of the UP government for a full term of five years.[27][28] 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.
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 for 5 years.[29]
Position in state and national politics
Alliance
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.[30]
In April 2014, the
Save Indian Family Foundation encouraged voters to support the Samajwadi Party or vote
None of the above because they had said they opposed the alleged misuse of gender bias laws.[31]
In the last general election, the Samajwadi Party was defeated by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh though allying with
Bahujan Samaj Party.[32] It is currently the thirteenth largest party in parliament.[33] In the general elections of 2019, it won only five seats, while the
Indian National Congress gained 52 seats and the
Bharatiya Janata Party obtained a clear mandate with 303 seats.
Under the guidance of Shri Kailash Chaurasia ji, who was the Minister of State in the Government of Uttar Pradesh and under the direction of Dr. Shri Arvind Srivastava ji, Shri Shivendra Nandan [37] ji made the formal announcement of the formation of Samajwadi Sentinel and in this sequence, Samajwadi Samvad to put forward the public's views. He reportedly cited the fight for equal rights for all races and issues related to inequality in youth-related matters as the main issues presented. The Samajwadi Party has front line campaigning groups.[38] Ongoing debate on party policy comes from many of their leaders. Among them are:
^This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he or she heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, founder and former President of Samajwadi Party, former Defence minister of India and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.[70][71][72]
Akhilesh Yadav, President of Samajwadi Party and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.[73][74]
^G. C. Malhotra (26 September 2023).
Anti-defection Law in India and the Commonwealth. [Published for] Lok Sabha Secretariat [by] Metropolitan Book Company. p. 570.
ISBN9788120004061. Mulayan Singh Yadav, MLA, along with 22 other MLAs belonging to the Janata Party Legislature Party, in a letter addressed to the Speaker, intimated that there was a split in their original Party, in a letter addressed to the Speaker, intimated that there was a split in their original Party.