Ram Prasad Chaudhary

• Janata Party (1989–1991)
• Bahujan Samaj Party ^[1] (1996–2002), (2007–2020)
• Bhartiya Janta Party (2002–2007)

Ram Prasad Chaudhary
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 June 2024
Spouse	Kapura Devi
Relations	Arvind Kumar Chaudhary (nephew)
Children	3
Residence(s)	Jigna, Uttar Pradesh, India
Alma mater	Government Polytechnic College, Basti
Occupation	Farmer
Profession	Politician
As on 13 June 2024
Source:

Ram Prasad Chaudhary (born 15 November 1954) is an Indian politician and a member of the 9th Lok Sabha, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh. He represents the Kaptanganj constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Samajwadi Party. He earlier also served as Minister of State (Independent charge) in Mayawati cabinet (1997), Minister of Textile and silk industry in Kalyan Singh government (1997) and Minister of Food and Civil Supplies in Mayawati cabinet (2007–2012). ^[2] In June 2024, Chaudhary defeated Harish Dwivedi of Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected to Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha from Basti Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh. ^[3]

Early life and education

Chaudhary was born 15 November 1954 in Jigna village in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh to father Manik Ram Chaudhary in a Kurmi family. ^[4] In 1978, he attained Diploma in civil and electrical engineering from Government Polytechnic College, Basti. Chaudhary is married to Kapura Devi, with whom he has a son and two daughters. ^{[1] [5]} His nephew Arvind Kumar Chaudhary has been also an MP from Basti (Lok Sabha constituency) from 2009 to 2014 as a member of Bahujan Samaj Party. ^[6]

Political career

Chaudhary started career as a member of parliament in 9th Lok Sabha from Khalilabad of Sant Kabir Nagar district as a member of Janata Party. After 1993 he was regular five time continuously MLA of Kaptanganj (Assembly constituency) of Basti district till 2017. ^[7]

In Seventeenth Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh (2017) elections, he lost to Bhartiya Janata Party candidate Chandra Prakash Shukla by a margin of 6,827 votes. ^[7]

In 2019 general elections, he was candidate of SP and BSP (Mahagathbandhan) from Basti Lok Sabha seat. ^[8] But he lost the election to BJP's Harish Dwivedi by a margin of 30,354 (2.88%) votes. ^{[9] [10]}

In November 2019, BSP supremo Mayawati expelled Chaudhary and three former MLAs from the party for indiscipline and anti-party activities. ^{[11] [12]} After the expulsion, Chaudhary joined the Samajwadi Party along with his colleagues in the presence of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow. ^{[13] [14]}

Criminal cases

According to his election affidavit, Chaudhary has three pending criminal cases against him. In 2023, he was convicted under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Basti, and has not filed an appeal. ^[15]

Earlier, he was acquitted by the MP/MLA court in an eight-year-old case registered under Section 171 of the Representation of the People Act, which alleged that he had distributed cash and sarees to influence voters during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign. The court exonerated him due to lack of evidence. ^[16]

Posts held

#	From	To	Position	Comments
01	1989	1991	Member, 9th Lok Sabha
02	1993	1995	Member, 12th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
03	1996	2002	Member, 13th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
04	2002	2007	Member, 14th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
05	2007	2012	Member, 15th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
06	2012	2017	Member, 16th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh

References

1. "Member Profile". Legislative Assembly official website. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
2. "यूपी चुनाव: इन विधायकों की कुर्सी छीनने में BJP के छूट रहे पसीने". Navbharat Times. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
3. "Ram Prasad Chaudhary wins from Basti".
4. "Profile of Ram Prasad Chaudhary". Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
5. "Candidate Affidavit". myneta.info. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
6. "पूर्व मंत्री राम प्रसाद चौधरी का कुनबा समाजवादी पार्टी में शामिल, कभी अखिलेश यादव को कहा था 'जो पिता का नहीं हुआ..." Patrika News (in Hindi). 20 January 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
7. "Kaptanganj Assembly Constituency Election Result – Legislative Assembly Constituency". resultuniversity.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
8. "राम प्रसाद चौधरी बस्ती लोकसभा के बसपा प्रत्याशी घोषित". Jagran. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
9. "Basti Lok Sabha Election Result 2019: Constituency Map, Winner, Runner Up". Jagran. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
10. "Basti (Uttar Pradesh) Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 – Basti Parliamentary Constituency, Winning MP and Party Name". www.elections.in. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
11. "BSP sacks former MP, 3 others for indiscipline". The Times of India. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
12. "मायावती ने पूर्व मंत्री रामप्रसाद चौधरी समेत चार पूर्व विधायकों को बीएसपी से निकाला". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). 23 November 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
13. Hardaha, Rashi (20 January 2020). "BSP losing its leaders to Samajwadi Party in UP". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
14. Shivendra (20 January 2020). "बसपा के पूर्व मंत्री राम प्रसाद चौधरी समेत कई पूर्व विधायक समाजवादी पार्टी में शामिल". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
15. "Ram Prasad Chaudhary(Samajwadi Party(SP)):Constituency- BASTI(UTTAR PRADESH) - Affidavit Information of Candidate:". www.myneta.info. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
16. "Former U.P. cabinet minister acquitted in 8-yr-old poll code of conduct case". Hindustan Times. 19 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2025.