Stories
BJP Showcases Trust in Veteran Dalit Leader Vidyasagar Sonkar for Rajya Sabha
- •The BJP has announced its 8 candidates for the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, including MLC Vidyasagar Sonkar to appeal to the Dalit community.
- •Vidyasagar Sonkar, a grassroots leader from Jaunpur, started his political journey as a booth president in 1985 and a corporator in 1989.
- •He has a long association with the RSS and has served as a Lok Sabha MP from Saidpur, Jaunpur, alongside holding key organizational roles in the party.
- •Despite electoral setbacks in 2009 and 2017, the party made him an MLC and assigned him crucial responsibilities during the 2022 assembly elections.
Key Questions Answered
Vidyasagar Sonkar is a prominent veteran Dalit leader from Uttar Pradesh who was chosen by the BJP as one of its candidates for the Rajya Sabha to help woo the Dalit community. He is a grassroots leader who has a long-standing association with the party and the Sangh, having started his political journey as a booth president.
Vidyasagar Sonkar has served as a corporator, a Lok Sabha MP from Saidpur in 1996, and later from Machhlishahr in Jaunpur. Additionally, he has held key organizational positions including state general secretary, member of the state working committee, and member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC).
Ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Vidyasagar Sonkar was entrusted with the important responsibility of managing six yatras (processions) aimed at reaching out to the public, which helped increase the BJP's seats.
