Shri Sanatan Pandey is an Indian politician affiliated with the Samajwadi Party, currently contesting for the Ballia Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 elections. His political career spans multiple elections, where he has contested for both the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha seats.
Early Life and Education
Sanatan Pandey hails from Pandeypur, a village in the Rasra constituency of Ballia. He completed his education in 1980 at the Aazmgarh Polytechnic Institute, where he earned a diploma in engineering. Following his education, he began working as a Junior Engineer with the Sugarcane Development Council.
Political Career
Pandey’s political journey began when he resigned from his job in 1996 to join the Samajwadi Party. He has contested several elections since then:
- Assembly Elections: He ran for the Chilkahar Assembly seat in 1997 and 2002 but was unsuccessful. However, in the 2007 elections, he secured victory and became a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
- Post-Assembly Career: After his tenure as an MLA, he faced setbacks in subsequent elections, including a loss in the 2012 elections when the Chilkahar seat was dissolved, and he contested from Rasra instead but was defeated by a BSP candidate. He was appointed as an advisor in the state’s Tourism and Culture Department in 2016
- Lok Sabha Elections: In 2019, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from Ballia but lost to the BJP’s Virendra Singh Mast by a margin of around 16,000 votes
Current Status
In the 2024 elections, Sanatan Pandey has been re-nominated by the Samajwadi Party to contest from the Ballia Lok Sabha seat, where he is competing against former MP Neeraj Shekhar from the BJP
Pandey’s political strategies and public statements, particularly during the election campaign, have been noted for generating both support and controversy. His experiences over the years have made him a notable figure within the Samajwadi Party and in local politics in Uttar Pradesh.