Anju Bala

Indian politician

Anju Bala

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 26 May 2014 – 24 May 2019
Preceded by	Ashok Kumar Rawat
Succeeded by	Ashok Kumar Rawat
Constituency	Misrikh

Personal details
Born	(1979-09-06) 6 September 1979 (age 44) Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party (expelled in February 2022)
Spouse	Krishna Kumar Singh
Children	2 (1 son, 1 daughter)^[1]
Residence(s)	Village Sunasi, Bilgram, Uttar Pradesh^[1]
Alma mater	Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (M.A.) University of Jammu (M.A.)
Profession	Industrialist, Agriculturist, Civil Servant, Builder^[1]

Anju Bala (born 6 September 1979) is an Indian politician who has been a Member of Lok Sabha for the Misrikh constituency since the 2014 Indian general election. Bala entered active politics in 2010 and was elected the Block Pramukh (president) of Mallawan. Three years later, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected to the Lok Sabha the following year. She is a postgraduate in Hindi and Sanskrit. Her husband Krishna Kumar Singh is a former legislator in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. In February 2022 she was expelled from Bharatiya Janata Party.^[2]^[3]

Early life

Anju Bala was born on 6 September 1979 at Kathua, Jammu Kashmir to Ravinder Nath and Trishala Devi,^[4] both of whom belong to the Chamar caste.^[5] She completed her postgraduate education in Sanskrit at the University of Jammu in 2007. Three years later, she graduated from Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University with a degree in Hindi.^[6]

Political career

Bala participated in youth politics during her college life. In 2010, she was elected as block pramukh (president) of Mallawan.^[7] She said her husband persuaded her to contest the block pramukh and parliamentary elections.^[8]

In 2013, Bala joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[7] In the 2014 Indian general election, she contested Misrikh constituency and defeated her nearest rival Ashok Kumar Rawat of the Bahujan Samaj Party by a margin of 87,363 votes.^[7]^[9]^[10] Upon being elected, she said her first priorities as an MP were making herself available to the residents of her constituency, constructing new roads and ensuring a continuous supply of electricity.^[7]

On 26 February 2018, Bala adopted Tejipur village under a rural development program called Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. She had previously adopted Sihordwar Shikoh and Islam Nagar villages.^[11]^[12]

During Bala's tenure as an MP, she used 90.21% of ₹17.5 crore (US$2.2 million) that was released under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme fund.^[13] On 22 March 2019, the party did not renominate her for the upcoming 2019 Indian general election.^[14]

In February 2022 she was expelled from Bharatiya Janata Party.^[15]^[16]

Views

Bala believes violence against cows could be curbed by making them the national animal of India and in August 2017, she demanded this course of action in Lok Sabha.^[17] She is of the opinion that inflation can be controlled by regulating the prices of petroleum products. She also believes the promotion of agriculture will help create jobs, that education reduces poverty^[7] and that bringing youth into politics could help a new style of political thinking to emerge.^[8] Bala has supported banknote demonetisation because she thinks it would help authorities locate black money in India.^[18]

Personal life

Bala married Krishna Kumar Singh of Uttar Pradesh on 26 January 2008.^[4] Singh represented Mallawan constituency in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2012 as a member of Bahujan Samaj Party. They have two children.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Sixteenth Lok Sabha- Members Bioprofile". Government of India. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
^ "UP Chunav: BJP expels National Scheduled Castes Commission member Anju Bala from the party, this leader also came under attack". 18 February 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ "UP Chunav: BJP ने राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति आयोग की सदस्य अंजू बाला को पार्टी से निकाला, इस नेता पर भी गिरी गाज". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). 18 February 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Anju Bala". Daily Hunt. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "भाजपा प्रत्याशी पर फर्जी जाति प्रमाणपत्र का आरोप" [BJP candidate is accused of forging her caste certificate]. Amar Ujala. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
^ "Anju Bala". My Neta. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Misra, Ashish (30 May 2014). "Mishrikh MP Anju Bala of BJP". India Today. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b Seetharaman, G.; Balasubramanyam, K. R. (25 May 2014). "32 newly elected under-35 MPs & what they intend to do for their constituencies". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Lok Sabha elections results 2014: Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand". The Indian Express. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "4TH LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR LOK SABHA ELECTION 2014". Bharatiya Janata Party. 15 March 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "सांसद अंजू बाला ने चौपाल आयोजित कर गोद लिये गांव के विकास कार्य की जानकारी ली" (in Hindi). Daily Hunt. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "अंजू बाला के सांसद आदर्श ग्राम योजना के तहत मिस्रिख के तेजीपुर गाँव का #REALITYCHECK" [The #REALITYCHECK of the village Tejipur adopted by MP Anju Bala of Misrikh under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana] (in Hindi). Uttar Pradesh. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "STATE:Uttar Pradesh". MPLADS. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
^ "BJP springs surprise, denies tickets to 6 sitting MPs in UP". The Economic Times. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
^ "UP Chunav: BJP expels National Scheduled Castes Commission member Anju Bala from the party, this leader also came under attack". 18 February 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ "UP Chunav: BJP ने राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति आयोग की सदस्य अंजू बाला को पार्टी से निकाला, इस नेता पर भी गिरी गाज". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). 18 February 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ "Parliament Day 12 highlights: Demonetisation has led to squeezing of terror funds, says Arun Jaitley". Hindustan Times. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "सांसद अंजू बाला ने रवाना किया परिवर्तन रथ" [MP Anju Bala sails off the Parivartan chariot] (in Hindi). Amar Ujala. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2019.