Naresh Uttam Patel

Naresh Uttam Patel (born 10 January 1956) is an Indian politician, leader of the Samajwadi Party^[4] and a former member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.^[5] He first became an MLA as a Janata Dal candidate in 1989 and is one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party. Currently, he is^[6] Uttar Pradesh State President of Samajwadi Party, second only to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the organisational setup in party state unit. With his clean image and educated background (post-graduate from Kanpur University, he has earned a reputation of grass-root leader with wider following among the dominant Kurmi caste voters, the community to which he himself belongs.^[7]

Naresh Chandra Uttam Patel
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 June 2024
Preceded by	Niranjan Jyoti
Constituency	Fatehpur
State President of Samajwadi Party for Uttar Pradesh
In office 1 January 2017 – 6 May 2024
Preceded by	Shivpal Singh Yadav
Succeeded by	Shyamlal Pal
Member (MLC) of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
In office 6 May 2006 – 5 May 2024
Constituency	elected by Legislative Assembly members
Member (MLA) of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly[1]
In office 2 December 1989 – 4 April 1991
Preceded by	Prakash Naraian
Succeeded by	Chattra Pal Verma
Constituency	Jahanabad
Deputy Minister Government of Uttar Pradesh [2]
In office 5 December 1989 – 24 June 1991
Chief Minister	Mulayam Singh Yadav
Personal details
Born	(1956-01-10) 10 January 1956 (age 69) Lahuri Sarai, Jahanabad, Fatehpur
Political party	Samajwadi Party (1992-present)
Other political affiliations	Janata Dal (1989-1992)
Residence(s)	Naubasta, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Alma mater	P.P.N. Degree College, Kanpur University (BA, MA) D.A.V. Law College, Kanpur University (LL.B.)[3]
Profession	Politician

His elevation to such an important position indicates Party's new inclusive agenda that can help change image of the Party.^[8] He was the Minister in first Mulayam Government from 1989 to 1991 and three times Member of UP Legislative House. He was member of the Backward Class Commission and also member of the Janeshawar Mishra Trust. He was appointed Deputy State President when UP CM Akhilesh Yadav was Uttar Pradesh State President of Samajwadi Party, however when Shivpal Singh Yadav became UP State President of SP, he was removed.^[9] He belongs to Kurmi OBCs^[10] caste of UP and has been considered to be close^[11] to Mulayam Singh Yadav.^[12]

He is also one of the founding MLAs of Samajwadi Party. Being a loyalist ^[13] of OBCs, he has been entrusted with the screening of candidates for the 2017 state elections.^[14][15]