The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, consecrated in January, marked the completion of one of the saffron party's long-waited promises and was initially expected to boost the BJP's prospects in the Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP suffered a major setback in Uttar Pradesh, with its tally almost halved. One of its huge heartbreaks came from the results of the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, which includes Ayodhya. The Samajwadi Party defeated the BJP and the man who made it possible was Awadhesh Prasad. A Dalit leader from the "Yadav party" emerged victorious from Ayodhya's land, an unreserved seat. Here's all you need to know about Awadhesh Prasad: 


Veteran MLA Awadhesh Prasad clinched the seat from the BJP in a high-profile contest. Prasad, a prominent Dalit leader, defeated BJP's two-time sitting MP Lallu Singh by 54,567 votes, securing substantial support from Dalit voters who previously supported the Congress in Faizabad. 


Though Prasad prefers not to be identified as a Dalit leader, he is recognised as the Dalit face of the SP, often perceived as a "Yadav party". The 77-year-old Prasad, a nine-time MLA and now a first-time MP, belongs to the Pasi community and is a founding member of the SP. He has been closely associated with the party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav since 1974. 


A law graduate from Lucknow University, Awadhesh Prasad entered politics at 21, joining the Bharatiya Kranti Dal led by former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, whom he regards as his "political father". He contested his first Assembly election from Sohawal in Ayodhya district in 1974. During the Emergency, Prasad was the Faizabad district co-convenor of the anti-Emergency Sangharsh Samiti was arrested. While in jail, his mother passed away, and he was denied parole to attend her last rites. After the Emergency, he became a full-time politician. 


In 1981, while serving as the general secretary of both the Lok Dal and the Janata Party, Prasad missed his father's last rites due to his duties in Amethi during Lok Sabha bypolls, under strict instructions from Charan Singh. 


As the Janata Party splintered, Prasad joined Mulayam Singh Yadav in founding the SP in 1992. He was appointed the party's national secretary and a member of its central parliamentary board, eventually becoming the SP national general secretary, a position he held for four terms. 


Though this parliamentary election marked his first win, Prasad had previously contested the Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat in 1996 but lost. He has a strong track record in Assembly elections, losing only twice out of nine contests. 


Prasad, now the SP's prominent Dalit face, shared the stage with the party's chief Akhilesh Yadav at the SP national executive meeting in Kolkata in March 2023. He is integral to the party's strategy to expand its traditional Muslim-Yadav base through the PDA (Pichde [OBCs], Dalits, Alpasankhyak [minorities]), approach. As a newly elected parliamentarian, his influence within the party and beyond is expected to grow.  


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