She wears responsibility on her shoulders as comfortably as the sari and her petite frame belies that strong will that lies underneath.
Anupriya Patel, daughter of Dr Sonelal Patel, the founder president of Apna Dal in UP, is barely 31 but ever since her father met a tragic end in a road mishap in 2009, she has been trying to keep his flag flying.
As the Apna Dal general secretary — her mother Krishna Patel is the president — Ms Anupriya Patel discuss issues with coalition partners, deals with party matters, campaigns in her own constituency, Rohaniya in Varanasi, and maintains a vigil over the developing political situation.
A pass out from Lady Shriram College in Delhi and armed with a MBA degree, Ms Anupriya Patel finds politics to be a learning experience.
“This is the first time that I am observing the caste system so closely. Politics has given me an opportunity to observe people, their problems and their needs from a close quarter. I am also learning the nitty-gritty of politics in the Hindi heartland by observing everything around me,” she says.
As Anupriya Patel moves from meeting to meeting in Rohaniya, she uses the travel time to check in with candidates fielded by the Apna Dal in other constituencies.
“Since we are contesting as a coalition, we have to communicate with each other, plan joint meetings and other issues and for this I have to be on my ties all the time. This is a great learning experience for me,” she says.
The Apna Dal, founded by her father, is a Kurmi-based party that has a presence in the Allahabad-Mirzapur belt where there is a large Kurmi population.
“In the past, we have noticed that sometime our voters shift to other parties because they feel that the party is weak and they do not wish to waste their votes. To change this perception, we have strengthened our cadre right down to the booth level and are making a sincere effort to prevent our votes from floating to other parties,” she explains with the ease of a veteran. Abut her constituencm Ms Anupriya Patel says, “The main issue in my constituency — and the rest of the state — is development.”