Sudama Prasad (born 2 February 1961) is an Indian politician, member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly who serves as a Member of Parliament in the 18th Lok Sabha from Arrah. He was elected in the 2024 Indian General Election as a candidate of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation.
Sudama Prasad | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament 18th Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | R. K. Singh |
| Constituency | Arrah |
| Bihar Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2015–2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sunil Pandey |
| Constituency | Tarari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 February 1961 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation |
Earlier, He was a two-term Bihar Legislative Assembly representative from Tarari, having won in 2015 and 2020.
Prasad is a member of principal state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation.
Political career
editPrasad was active in the Bhojpur district of Bihar from 1997 onwards, belonging to the category of Other Backward Class (OBC). He is a member of Kanu caste. In a drive to social reforms, he married Shobha Mandal, who belonged to Schedule Caste in 1993.[1] He later became a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation and was elected to its state committee.[2] He was also accused in the murder case of an upper caste landlord which went to the Supreme Court of India. The court, however, acquitted him, ruling that he was victimised by the accusation and that the witnesses had given false testimonies to the court.[3]
In the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation fielded him as the candidate for the Tarari constituency and he was subsequently elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly.[4] The victory was seen as a regaining of a traditional stronghold of the party that had come under the domination of landlord backed candidates.[5] He later supported the successful campaign of the Dalit activist and independent candidate Jignesh Mevani for the Vadgam assembly constituency in 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.[6][7]
As a member of the legislative assembly, Prasad has participated in several agitations and highlighted concerns on issues such as demands for adequate prices of makka (Maize),[8] the Dalit Asmita Yatra called in the aftermath of the 2016 Una flogging incident,[9] and mob lynchings in the state.[10] Following the 2019 Bihar floods, he visited flood-hit areas in his constituency and organised new housing for villagers in flooded areas.[11] Prasad participated in organising rescue operations with party workers between 18–24 July.[12] According to him, the Nitish Kumar government had not initiated adequate measures for relief and rescue.[13]
In the 2024 Loksabha Election, Prasad's party was part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance and he was nominated as the candidate for Arrah. He faced against the two-term MP and Union Cabinet Minister in the Government of India (2014 - 2024), R. K. Singh and won with the margin of 59808 votes.[14]
References
edit
- ^ Bhelari, Amit. "OBC leader Sudama Prasad caps a lifetime of activist grassroots politics by becoming the first CPI-ML MP in 35 years". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Chaudhary, Pranava Kumar (17 October 2015). "'Leftist' Tarari talks more of caste than communism - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Ajoy (29 June 2012). "Back to Bathani Tola". Frontline. The Hindu. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Bihar 2015". Election Commission of India.
- ^ Srivastava, Arun (18 November 2015). "Significant show by CPI(ML) in Bihar". Navhind Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017.
- ^ Swamy, V. Kumara (14 January 2020). "'The BJP has divided the nation, my job is to sew it up'". Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Should BJP be worried about Gujarat?". The Indian Express. 17 August 2016.
- ^ Tirkey, Anil (19 March 2018). "विधानसभा में राजद और माले का हंगामा" [Agitations by RJD and ML in the legislative assembly]. Ranchi Express. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Jha, Satish (12 August 2016). "Dalit Asmita Yatra: Crowds brave rain, new leaders take centrestage". The Indian Express. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Khan, Mohd. Imran (22 July 2019). "Protests by MLAs and MLCs in Bihar Assembly Over Mob Lynchings". NewsClick. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "बाढ़ पीड़ितों का दर्द : जिस आशियाने से उनकी वर्षों की यादें जुड़ी थी, वो जमींदोज हो चुकी है" [Flood victims' pain: The land which their years of memories were attached have become worthless]. Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Bihar floods: Death toll reaches 67; water levels recede but more areas affected". The Financial Express. Press Trust of India. 17 July 2019.
- ^ "'Misplaced priorities': Sushil Modi draws flak for meeting Hrithik Roshan as Bihar grapples with floods". The Financial Express. 18 July 2019.
- ^ Bharat, E. T. V. (4 June 2024). "Arrah Lok Sabha Seat Results 2024: CPI (ML) (Liberation)'s Sudama Prasad Stuns BJP's Raj Kumar Singh". ETV Bharat News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.