Apna Dal’s national president Sone Lal Patel, who died in a road accident on Diwali day in Kanpur, was one politician who had openly offered his party tickets to criminals such as underworld don Abu Salem, besides making a demand for a CBI probe into the police encounter that killed dreaded dacoit Dadua. The only known face of his party, Patel used to openly express his allegiance to the Kurmi caste and expanded his party’s base among the caste in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Although he could not win any election in his two-decade-old career, 59-year-old Patel could spoil others’ party in several constituencies because of his caste-based support.

“He had contested his first election as the nominee of H N Bahuguna-led Lok Dal from Choubeypur Assembly seat in 1989. His party’s symbol was bullock cart,” said his son-in-law Ashish Patel, who works as a state government engineer. In 1991, BSP founder Kanshi Ram selected him to expand the party’s base in Kanpur. “As the BSP nominee, he had bagged around 20,000 votes,” Ashish added. Patel left the BSP in 1995 after organising a Kurmi Swabhiman rally in Lucknow and then formed his own party, Apna Dal.

According to Ashish, Sone Lal was born in 1950 in Bagulihai village of Kannauj district. “He got a job in the Army. But within a week, he left it and returned home,” he added.

Sone Lal has four daughters and two of them are unmarried.

He had contested the last Lok Sabha election from Phulpur. He also had a doctorate in Physics from Kanpur University, claimed Ashish. Regarding his political success, Ashish said the party had four MLAs, including Atiq Ahmad from Allahabad (West), in the 2002 Assembly elections.

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