Samata Party

Last updated

Samata Party
AbbreviationSAP
PresidentUday Mandal [1]
Founder George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar
Founded1994
Split from Janata Dal
Ideology Socialism
Political position Centre to centre-left [2]
ECI StatusUnrecognised [3]
Alliance National Democratic Alliance(1996 - 2003)
Seats in  Lok Sabha
0 / 543
Seats in  Rajya Sabha
0 / 245
Election symbol
Samata Party Election Symbol Flaming Torch.png
Party flag
Samata Party Flag.jpg
Website
samataparty.org

The Samata Party (SAP) is a political party in India, initially formed in 1994 by George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar, is now being led by Uday Mandal as its National President. [4] [5] Samata Party once launched Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar. [6] It was an offshoot of the Janata Dal, with the alleged casteism of the parent party being the reason given for the split. [7] The party has socialist leanings; at one point, it wielded considerable political and social influence in North India, particularly in Bihar. In 2003, most Samata Party members joined Janata Dal (United). Only a faction led by MP Brahmanand Mandal remained in the Samata party and continued to use the party name and symbols. [8] [9]

Contents

History

Samata Party President Mr. Uday Mandal holding 'Mashal' in his hand. Samata Party President with Mashal.jpg
Samata Party President Mr. Uday Mandal holding 'Mashal' in his hand.

In the general elections of 1996, the Samata Party formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janta Party and won eight seats, six of which were in Bihar and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. Before the election, the party was largely rooted only in Bihar. In the 1998 general elections, again in alliance with Bharatiya Janta Party, it won twelve seats, ten from Bihar and two from Uttar Pradesh.

In March 2000, Nitish Kumar was elected leader of the NDA for Chief Minister of Bihar post. On 3 March, he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time at the behest of the Vajpayee Government in the center. NDA and allies had 151 MLA whereas Lalu Prasad Yadav had 159 MLA in the 324-member house. Both alliances were less than the majority mark, 163. Nithish resigned because he could not prove his numbers in the house. [10] [11]

Radhabinod Koijam became the second chief minister from Samata Party when was sworn in as Chief Minister of Manipur on 15 February 2001. [12] The government was, however, short-lived. The coalition he was leading fell in May of the same year. [13] [14]

In the 1999 Loksabha election, Samata Party was in an informal alliance with the Lok Shakti and the Janata Dal(U). A proposal to merge the three into a single party was called off in January 2000 by George Fernandes who said the party would contest in the 2000 Bihar Legislative Assembly election on its own. [15]

2003 Split and merger with JD (U)

In October 2003, George Fernandes, the president of the Samata Party, announced that the party would be completely merging with the Janata Dal (United). [16] The Janata Dal (United) was part of the ruling coalition in the National Democratic Alliance.

Samata Party Member of parliament (Lok Sabha) Brahmanand Mandal was opposed to the merger split with the other members. Mandal was the leader of the minority faction opposing the merger. Since all the members did not support the official merge, and Brahmanand's faction challenged the merger of the party in front of ECI, the merger wasn't officially recognized by the Election Commission of India. The Election Commission of India decided that the merger was not technically complete and so a faction was allowed to function under the Samata Party name. [9]

Party leader Sharad Yadav, said that the ECI decision would have no effect on his merger plans as all candidates of Samata Party would be contesting the upcoming 2004 Lok Sabha election as candidate of Janata Dal United on the election symbol of Arrow. [8]

Most members of the party merged with JDU as proposed however a small faction of Samata Party continued using the name Samata party under the leadership of Brahmanand Mandal. [17]

Samata Party after 2004

In the 2009 general elections for the 14th Lok Sabha (2009-2014), it had contested in 11 seats and was defeated in all of them. It had secured a total of 31324 votes which was only 0.02 percent of the total number of votes cast in that state. [18]

For the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the Samata Party decided to forgo any alliance, stating that it would not ally with the Congress. [19] Due to the departure of all the bigwigs from the Samata Party to Janata Dal (United), the party started shrinking gradually. Due to its poor election performance, it began to lose popularity and was almost on the verge of closure. In 2020, the leadership of the party was given to Uday Mandal, he started restructuring it. [20]


Samata Party Press Conference at Patna Samata Party President Uday Mandal Press Conference at Patna in 20 December 2022 to call Luv Kush Equation.jpg
Samata Party Press Conference at Patna
Samata Party Rally at Patna Samata Party Rally Patna.jpg
Samata Party Rally at Patna
George Fernandes death anniversary by Samata Party George Fernandes death anniversary.jpg
George Fernandes death anniversary by Samata Party

Fernandes return in Samata Party in 2007

In 2007, George Fernandes left JD(U) and joined Samata Party along with their supporters, JD(U) general secretary and spokesman Shiv Kumar and senior leader Aneel Hegde, several other leaders and workers from various states left the JD(U) to join the Samata Party on the occasion. These included the Gujarat party unit president Praveensinh Jadeja, Andhra Pradesh unit chief Narasimha Reddy, Uttarakhand party chief Anurag Kumar and suspended party MLA from Bihar Chhedi Paswan. Also present on the occasion was former MP Brahmanand Mandal, the current president of Samata Party who had refused to join the JD(U) at the time of merger. [21] [22]

Ideology

The party follows a socialist ideology; in particular, that of Ram Manohar Lohia. [23]

Electoral performances

Lok Sabha (Lower House)

Lok Sabha TermIndian
General Election		Seats
contested		Seats
won		No. of
votes		 %.of votes in
seats contested
11th Lok Sabha 1996 81872,56,0862.2%
12th Lok Sabha 1998 571264,91,6391.8%
14th Lok Sabha 2004 4002,01,2760.1%
15th Lok Sabha 2009 1100.0%
16th Lok Sabha 2014 1000.0%
18th Lok Sabha 2024 220733180.01%

Vidhan Sabha (Lower House)

Vidhan Sabha TermState
elections		Seats
contested		Seats
won		 % of
votes		Party Votes
11th AssemblyBihar1995310724,40,2757.1%
12th AssemblyBihar20001203432,05,7468.7%
7th AssemblyManipur199523270,8876.2%
8th AssemblyManipur200036184,2156.7%
9th AssemblyManipur20053131,09,9128.3%
Nagaland20034110,4561.2%

List of chief ministers

NoName
Constituency		Term of officeTenure lengthPartyStateAssembly
1 Nitish Kumar 3 March 200010 March 20007 daysSamata Party Bihar 12th Assembly
2 Radhabinod Koijam 15 February 20011 June 2001106 daysSamata Party Manipur 8th Assembly

Symbol crisis

The Election Commission of India allotted the "Flaming Torch" symbol to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Samata Party raise objection against it. [24] A petition filed in Delhi High Court, Samata Party through Uday Kr Mandal its President vs Election Commission of India. [25] [26] A single bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula dismissed the case, Samata party appeal in double bench of Judges. [27] Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramontium Prasad again dismissed that appeal. [28] [29] [30] In Uttar Pradesh Local Body Election 2022, Samata Party got their symbol, now the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Samata Party both have the "Flaming Torch or Mashal". [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiv Sena</span> Political party in Maharashtra, India

Shiv Sena (1966–2022) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena which has a new symbol of Mashaal (Torch) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena (2022–present) which has gotten hold of the original party name and the "bow and arrow" symbol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Democratic Alliance</span> Indian big tent political coalition lead by BJP

The National Democratic Alliance is an Indian big tent multi-party political alliance, led by country's biggest political party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded on 15 May 1998 and currently controls the government of India as well as the government of 19 Indian states and one Union territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janata Dal (United)</span> Political party in India

Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar and Manipur and is a part of government in both the states. JD(U) heads the government in Bihar and is part of the NDA government in Manipur. JD(U) won 12 seats in the 2024 Indian general election, making it the seventh largest party in the Lok Sabha. JD(U) states that they believe in promoting social justice and lifting up marginalized peoples.

Lok Shakti was a political party in India. Lok Shakti was one of several parties that were formed when the Janata Dal crumbled in the mid-1990s. LS was formed in February 1997 after Ramakrishna Hegde was expelled from Janata Dal. Lok Shakti emerged as a major party in Karnataka. It was a founding member of the National Democratic Alliance. It eventually merged with Janta Dal (United).

Raghunath Jha was an Indian politician who was Union minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise and member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Bettiah constituency of Bihar and was a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) political party. Born in Village Amba Ojha Tola, in Sheohar He started his career by becoming the Mukhiya of his home panchayat in the year 1967. Thereafter, in 1967 he became Chairman of Zila Parishad. He started his legislative career in 1972 when he was elected as a MLA on Congress Ticket. He was elected from Sheohar for a record six consecutive terms before 1998. He was twice elected as a Member of Parliament from Gopalganj and Bettiah respectively.

Prabhunath Singh is a politician from Bihar, India and was a member of the 12th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabha. Singh represented the Masrakh assembly constituency from 1985 to 1995, and the Maharajganj Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar from 1998 to 2009. In 2013, he won the bypoll and remained as MP until 2014. Singh is a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digvijay Singh (Bihar politician)</span> Indian politician (1955–2010)

Digvijay Singh was an Indian politician from the state of Bihar, and an associate of George Fernandes of Janata Dal and later Samata Party, now led by Uday Mandal its President. He represented Banka in the Lok Sabha a few times. He was elected to Rajya Sabha twice. He died on 24 June 2010 in London after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bashistha Narain Singh</span> Indian politician

Bashistha Narain Singh, is a politician from Janata Dal (United). He is a Member of the Parliament of India representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He had served as Bihar state President of Janata Dal (United), the ruling party of the state. In January 2021, he was succeeded by Umesh Kushwaha to the post of Bihar state chief of JD (U). Previously, he was a member of Samata Party and was the President Bihar Samata Party from 1995 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Sundar Das</span> Indian politician (1921–2015)

Ram Sundar Das was an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Bihar state. He was a two-time Member of Parliament from Hajipur constituency.

Brahmanand Mandal was an indian politician who served as a member of the Lok Sabha from Munger constituency for three terms under three different political parties: in 1991, as a member of the Communist Party of India, in 1996 under the Samata Party, and re-elected in 1999 as part of Janata Dal (United). He was the Ex. President of Samata Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhudeo Choudhary</span> Indian politician (born 1960)

Bhudeo Choudhary is an Indian politician currently serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Dhoraiya seat in Bihar representing the Rashtriya Janata Dal and former member of parliament. He has been the state president of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party in Bihar till September 2020. Prior to the Bihar Assembly Elections 2020, he joined Rashtriya Janata Dal. He has also been the representative of the Dhauraiya constituency in the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2009. Choudhary was elected to the Indian parliament in 2009 for one term as the representative of the Jamui constituency. He is a former member of the Janata Dal (United).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashtriya Lok Samta Party</span> Political party in India

Rashtriya Lok Samta Party was a political party in India led by Upendra Kushwaha. It was launched on 3 March 2013 and was based in the state of Bihar. The party came into existence as a result of a feud between Nitish Kumar and Upendra Kushwaha, after which Kushwaha left The Nitish Kumar lead Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party. It has faced multiple rebellions and desertions since 2015. After the relations between Nitish and Kushwaha normalized, Upendra Kushwaha merged RLSP into JDU on 14 March 2021, with this, the party ceased to exist.

Mahendra Baitha was an Indian politician who was elected to the Lower House of Indian Parliament the Lok Sabha from Bagaha, Bihar in 1989 and 1991 as a member of the Janata Dal and in 1996, 1998 and 1999 as a Samata Party member.

Renu Kushawaha, an Indian politician, is a former leader of Lok Janshakti Party and a former state minister of Bihar. She hails from Khagaria. She has been associated with several political parties in past, right from Samata Party and Janata Dal (United) to Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2015, she contested from Samastipur Assembly seat on a BJP ticket where she lost to RJD candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrawan Kumar (politician)</span> Indian politician

Shrawan Kumar is an Indian politician from Janata Dal (United). He is the Minister of Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs in the Bihar Cabinet under Nitish Kumar.

Manjay Lal also known as Manjay Lal Kushwaha was an Indian politician from Janata Dal (United). He has served as member of the Lok Sabha representing Samastipur. He was elected to 9th, 10th and 13th Lok Sabha. Lal was also the Member of the Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarpur from 1977 to 1980.

Dr. Shambhu Sharan Shrivastava is a Bihar politician who was a former leader of Samata Party and Janata Dal (United). He was sacked from the Janata Dal (United) in 2011 due to anti party activities. He was member of Bihar Legislative Council. Later he formed the Lok Aawaz Dal party. He is a former president of the All India Students Federation.

Akhlaq Ahmed is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly from Bikramganj in the 2000 Bihar Legislative Assembly election Samata Party and February 2005 Bihar Legislative Assembly election in as a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. He joined Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party in 2015.

Basant Kumar Wangkhem is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Manipur Legislative Assembly from Kshetrigao constituency in Manipur in the 1995 and 2000 Manipur Legislative Assembly election as a member of the Janata Dal (Secular) and then Samata Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiv Sena (UBT)</span> Political party in Maharashtra, India

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (IAST: Śiva Sēnā (Uddhava bāḷāsāhēba ṭhākare); lit. 'Army of Shivaji, led by Uddhav Thackeray'; abbr.SS (UBT)) is a Hindutva-based, Marathi regionalist, nationalist political party formed in 2022 under the leadership of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray.

References

  1. ↑ "Dispute over new symbol of Uddhav Shiv Sena, Samata Party files complaint". 12 October 2022.
  2. ↑ Mukherjee, Pampa; Saxena, Rekha; Mitra, Subrata (16 June 2022). The 2019 Parliamentary Elections in India Democracy at the Crossroads?. Taylor and Francis. ISBN   9781000591057.
  3. ↑ "Samata Party delegation meets Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to seek help in getting back 'flaming torch' symbol from Thackeray faction". The Hindu. 22 February 2023. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Dash, Nivedita; News, India TV (12 July 2023). "From Mulayam Singh's SP to George Fernandes' Samata Party: List of splits in Janata Dal | EXPLAINED". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 21 December 2023.{{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ "Delhi HC dismisses Samata Party plea against 'flaming torch' symbol allotment". The Indian Express. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "'Flaming Torch' Election Symbol: A Look Back At Samata Party And Nitish Kumar's Ascension To Bihar CM". www.outlookindia.com/. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Samata Party". Indian Elections. Archived from the original on 1 June 2004.
  8. 1 2 "BBCHindi". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  9. 1 2 "EC rejects merger of JD-U, Samata Party". rediff.com. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Kumar, Abhay (24 November 2019). "March 2000: When Nitish quit as CM, before floor test". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Dasgupta, Swapan (20 March 2000). "Nitish Kumar's government in Bihar not outvoted as much as outmanoeuvred by Laloo Yadav". India Today. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "Koijam sworn in Manipur CM". Rediff. PTI. 15 February 2001. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  13. ↑ Himal South Asian-August-2000 Archived 7 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Message from Manipur". The Tribune. Chandigarh, India. 2 June 2001. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  15. ↑ "Samata Party breaks away from JD (U)". Rediff. UNI. 6 January 2000. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  16. ↑ Gargi Parsai (31 October 2003). "Fernandes to head Janata Dal (United)". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
  17. ↑ "EC recognises old Samata Party" [usurped] , The Hindu (Sunday, 21 March 2004)
  18. ↑ "PERFORMANCE OF GENERAL ELECTIONS - INDIA, 2009 - REGISTERED (UNRECOGNISED) PARTIES & INDEPENDENTS" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2012.
  19. ↑ "कांग्रेस से गठबंधन नहीं करेगी समता पार्टी 10237767". Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "दिल्ली HC ने शिवसेना धड़े को मशाल चुनाव चिह्न आवंटित किए जाने के खिलाफ समता पार्टी की याचिका खारिज की". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "Fernandes' supporters bid to revive Samata". Hindustan Times. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  22. ↑ "George may attend Samata convention". The Indian Express. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Samata Party". Samata Party. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  24. ↑ "Dispute over new symbol of Uddhav Shiv Sena, Samata Party files complaint". Hindustan Times. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  25. ↑ "Samata Party to move Delhi HC against Thackeray faction's 'flaming torch'". Hindustan Times. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  26. ↑ Sharma, Unnati (15 October 2022). "Samata Party moves Delhi HC against mashaal symbol for Uddhav Sena, claims it as own". ThePrint. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  27. ↑ "ठाकरे गटाच्या चिन्हाला आव्हान; दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालयात याचिका". LOKMAT (in Marathi). 15 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  28. ↑ "Delhi HC rejects Samata Party's plea challenging ECI's allotment of 'Flaming Torch' to Thackeray faction". ANI News. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  29. ↑ "Delhi HC Rejects Plea by Samata Party Against Flaming Torch Election Symbol to Sena Faction". News18. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "Delhi HC dismisses Samata Party appeal challenging ECI decision on allotment of symbol 'Flaming Torch'". ANI News. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  31. ↑ Sharma, Unnati (3 December 2022). "After reclaiming mashaal for UP civic polls, Samata Party says will move SC for old symbol". ThePrint. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.