A post is being widely shared on social media purportedly naming the relationships of the current presidents of various political parties in India with former party presidents. The post insinuates that all political parties mentioned in the post, in India, have nepotism in it.
The post reads, “President of political parties in India: Congress – Sonia’s son, NCP – Pawar’s daughter, RJD – Lalu’s son SP – Mulayam’s son, Akali Dal – Badal’s son, TMC – Mamta’s nephew, JDS – Deve Gowda’s son, BSP – Mayawati’s nephew, TRS – Chandrasekhar Rao’s son, TDP – Chandrababu Naidu’s son, Shiv Sena – Uddhav Thackeray’s son, National Conf – Farukh Abdullah’s son, YSRCP – Rajasekhara Reddy’s son, LJP – Ram Vilas Paswan’s Son, JMM – Shibu Soren’s son, BJD – Biju Patnaik’s son, PDP – Mufti’s daughter, RLD – Ajit Singh’s son, INLD – Chautala’s son, DMK – Stalin’s son, BJP – Any son of Bharat Mata. Which party has democracy? Do they worry about their children or our country? Still, few Indians want Dynasty Rule, but claim to be democratic…*Or call it Monarchy, more romantic sounding description*”
A link to the post can be seen here.
Many similar posts can be seen here, here, here, and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile did a fact-check on this claim and found it to be misleading. We independently verified all the parties.
Claim 1: Sonia Gandhi’s son is the President of Indian National Congress (INC)
Verdict: Misleading
The history of the Congress party dates back to the pre-Independence era. Congress party was formed in 1885 by a British civil servant Allan Octavian Hume. The first President of the Congress party was Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee who headed the first session of INC held in Bombay. Since then the presidents of the Congress party have been from different caste, religion and regional backgrounds.
Here is a list of people who were Congress presidents since Independence: J.B.Kripalani (1947), Pattabhi Sitaraimayya (1948, 1949), Purushottam Das Tandon (1950), U. N. Dhebar (1955-1959), Indira Gandhi (1959, 1978-1984), Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1960-1963), K. Kamaraj (1964-1967), S. Nijalingappa (1968, 1969), Jagjivan Ram (1970, 1971), Shankar Dayal Sharma (1972-1974), Devakanta Barua (1975-1977), Rajiv Gandhi (1985-1991), PV Narsimha Rao (1992-1996), Sitaram Kesri (1996-1998), Sonia Gandhi (1998-2017), Rahul Gandhi (2017-2019). Since 2019, after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the post, Sonia Gandhi has been handling the office.
While Rahul Gandhi was the President of INC for 2 years between 2017 and 2019, he renounced his post on July 2, 2019, following the Lok Sabha Elections debacle of the party.
Since 2019, the presidential election of the Congress party has been postponed thrice by Congress Working Committee (CWC), the last one (which was to be held on June 23, 2021) was postponed citing the raging coronavirus pandemic, according to a report published by India Today on May 10, 2021.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 2: Sharad Pawar’s daughter is the president of National Congress Party (NCP)
Verdict: False
National Congress Party was founded on June 10, 1999, by Sharad Pawar along with P. A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar, according to the NCP website. The party was formed after they were expelled from INC for questioning the right of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the party.
The current President of NCP is Sharad Pawar. Supriya Sule is the daughter of Sharad Pawar but she has never been party President. She is an MP from Baramati.
Hence, the viral claim is false.
Claim 3: Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son is the president of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
Verdict: False
The Rashtriya Janata Dal came into being on July 5, 1997, when Lalu Prasad Yadav, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Kanti Singh along with seventeen Lok Sabha MPs and eight Rajya Sabha MPs and thousands of supporters and activists assembled at New Delhi and took the decision to form a new Political Party under the name “Rashtriya Janata Dal- RJD”. Lalu Prasad Yadav was elected the President of “Rashtriya Janata Dal- RJD”, according to the official website of RJD.
According to a report by Economic Times published on November 26, 2019, Jagada Nand Singh was elected as the Bihar State President of RJD, who despite being an RJD veteran is not associated with Lalu Prasad’s family.
Lalu Prasad Yadav has been the former Chief Minister of Bihar and is the current national president of RJD. He has two sons Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. While Tejashwi Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly and won the Bihar Assembly Polls 2020 from Raghopur constituency, his elder brother Tej Pratap is an MLA from Hasanpur.
While Tejashwi and Tej Pratap are prominent members of the party, they do not hold the post of party president, which is still held by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Hence, the viral claim is false.
Claim 4: Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son is the president of Samajwadi Party (SP)
Verdict: True
The Samajwadi Party was founded on October 4, 1992, by Mulayam Singh Yadav. SP is based out of Uttar Pradesh, and its current president is Akhilesh Yadav.
Akhilesh Yadav is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Malti Devi and was born on July 1, 1973. He was elected as the party President in 2012 after the party underwent a makeover and a generation change.
Hence the viral claim is true.
Claim 5: Prakash Singh Badal’s son is the president of Akali Dal
Verdict: True
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), popularly known as Akali Dal is a regional political party in Punjab state, founded on December 14, 1920, in Amritsar. It is the second oldest party in India.
The current President of SAD is Sukhbir Singh Badal. He is the 21st President of the party and was unanimously elected on January 31, 2008. He is the son of Parkash Singh Badal, who was the president of SAD between 1995 to 2008. Prakash Singh Badal has been the Chief Minister of Punjab five times.
Hence, the viral claim is true.
Claim 6: Mamata Banerjee’s nephew is the president of Trinamool Congress (TMC)
Verdict: Misleading
All India Trinamool Congress was founded on January 1, 1998, by Mamata Banerjee. While it is a national party, it is predominantly active in West Bengal.
While Mamata Banerjee is the chairperson of the party, other prominent members i.e. members of the State Coordination Committee include Subrata Bakshi, Partha Chatterjee, Kalyan Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Firhad Hakim and Shanta Chhetri.
Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee was earlier the President of TMC’s Youth Wing. According to News 18, on June 5, 2021, he resigned from the party’s Youth Wing and became the General Secretary of the party.
Prior to Abhishek Banerjee, TMC’s stalwart Subrata Bakshi was the General Secretary of TMC. Sayoni Ghosh has been appointed as the new President of TMC’s youth wing, according to The Economic Times report published on June 5, 2021.
A report by India Today published on June 14, speculates that Mukul Roy might become the next national president of TMC.
While Abhishek Banerjee holds a significant role in the party, he is not the party president.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 7: H. D. Deve Gowda’s son is the party president of Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S)
Verdict: Misleading
JD(S) is a party founded by a faction of Janata Dal in 1999. When some Janata Dal leaders left to ally with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and formed the Janata Dal (United) party, during the same time, HD DeveGowda emerged as the leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka.
While the National President of the party is H. D. Deve Gowda, the Karnataka state party president is HD Kumarswamy, son of Deve Gowda. Kumarswamy became the state party president on July 4, 2019. The post of the working president became vacant after AH Vishwanath stepped down after the Lok Sabha polls debacle, as reported by Business Standard. Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the grandson of Deve Gowda was appointed as the youth president of the party and Madhu Bangarappa was appointed as the working president of JDS.
Later, on March 12, 2021, Madhu Bangrappa announced that he has joined the Congress party. According to a report by The New Indian Express, many speculated that Madhu distanced himself from the JDS after Nikhil Kumaraswamy — son of former CM H D Kumaraswamy and grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda — was appointed JDS youth wing president. Hence, while Deve Gowda is the President of JD(S), his son and grandson play a significant role in the party.
The viral claim is misleading.
Claim 8: Mayawati’s nephew is the president of Bahujan Samajwadi Party(BSP)
Verdict: Misleading
BSP was founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984, with an intent to provide equal justice for Other Backward Classes, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other religious minorities.
Mayawati succeeded Kanshi Ram as party President on September 18, 2003, through a consensus. Since then, till today, she has been the party President.
A report by FirstPost published on June 24, 2019, states that Mayawati appointed her brother, Anand Kumar, as the party’s national vice president and nephew Aakash Anand, as national coordinator.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 9: KCR’s son is the president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)
Verdict: Misleading
TRS is a regional party predominant in Telangana. It was founded by K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) on April 27, 2001, with the sole agenda to have a separate Telangana state.
Since the formation of the party, KCR has been the President of the party. Earlier there was a rumour that his son KT Rama Rao (KTR) may become the next Chief Minister of the state. However, KCR put a stop to the rumour by saying, “Do you expect me to resign from the chief minister post? Why are you talking about making KTR the chief minister, though I had already made a statement in the assembly that I would continue to be the chief minister?” He made the above statement at the party’s extended state executive committee meeting at Telangana Bhavan on February 7, 2021, as reported by Hindustan Times.
As per The Print, on April 14, 2018, KCR appointed his son KTR as the party’s working president.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 10: Chandrababu Naidu’s son is the president of Telugu Desam Party (TDP)
Verdict: Misleading
The Telugu Desam Party is a regional Indian political party active in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The party was founded by N. T. Rama Rao on March 29, 1982, as mentioned on the official website of TDP.
Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the son-in-law of N.T. Rama Rao is the current President of TDP. Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh is the General-Secretary and MLC of TDP, as mentioned in his Twitter bio.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 11: Uddhav Thackeray’s son is the President of Shiv Sena
Verdict: Misleading
Shiv Sena is a Maharashtra based regional party that was founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray.
The current president of Shiv Sena is Uddhav Thackeray, who is the son of Bal Thackeray and the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Uddhav Thackeray has two sons, Aaditya Thackeray and Tejas Thackeray. Aaditya Thackeray is the youth wing president of Shiv Sena and Tejas Thackeray is a conservationist, wildlife researcher.
According to a report published by Hindustan Times on October 10, 2019, Uddhav Thackeray denied any speculations of his younger son, Tejas joining the party. Uddhav said, “He is a person who wanders in the jungle. He knows we don’t have any wild animals; they are on the other side (other parties).”
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 12: Farukh Abdullah’s son is the President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC)
Verdict: Misleading
JKNC had its first conference in 1940 in Baramulla, Kashmir, under the Presidentship of its elected president Sardar Budh Singh, according to the official website of JKNC.
The current President of JKNC, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has served as JKNC President twice, once between 1982 to 2002 and then from 2009 till now. His father, Sheikh Abdullah was also a prominent politician of Kashmir, he was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference and the 1st elected Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after its accession to India.
Dr Farooq Abdullah has four children, Sara Pilot, Omar Abdullah, Safia Abdullah and Hinna.
Omar Abdullah is the vice-president of JKNC and is the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 13: Rajasekhara Reddy’s son is the president of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP)
Verdict: True
YSRCP is a regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh, founded by Siva Kumar in 2009 and was taken over by Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy in 2011.
Jaganmohan is the son of former Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (popularly known as YSR).
Earlier both YSR and Jaganmohan were Congress leaders but after the death of YSR due to a plane crash, and when Congress tried to stop Jaganmohan to do the Odarpu Yatra (condolence tour) across Andhra, Jaganmohan left Congress.
Later in 2011, Jaganmohan was elected as the President of YSRCP and he is the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Hence, the viral claim is true.
Claim 14: Ram Vilas Paswan’s Son is the President of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP)
Verdict: Misleading
LJP was founded by Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000 when he split from Janata Dal. LJP is in alliance with BJP in the centre and Ram Vilas Paswan was Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries until he passed away on October 8, 2020.
On November 5, 2019, his son Chirag Paswan became the President of the party.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, Chirag Paswan, was isolated by a coup in Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by his uncle and was removed as party president on June 15 in an “emergency meeting” of rebel MPs who are now calling the shots.
Hence the viral claim is now Misleading.
Claim 15: Shibu Soren’s son is president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)
Verdict: Misleading
JMM was founded by Shibu Soren on February 4, 1973, with the help of Binod Bihari Mahato, the leader of ‘Shivajee Samaj’. Mahato became the first president and Shibu Soren became the first General Secretary of the party.
Shibu Soren is the current president of JMM and a member of the Rajya Sabha. His son Hemant Soren is the chief minister of Jharkhand. Apart from Hemant Soren, Shibu Soren has two more sons Durga Soren and Basant Soren.
Durga Soren died in sleep on May 22, 2009, at the age of 39-years. He was a former MLA. Basant Soren became MLA from Dumka seat in the 2019 Jharkhand General Assembly Elections. Sita Soren, wife of Late Durga Soren is the third time MLA from Jama Assembly Constituency.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 16: Biju Patnaik’s Son is the President of Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
Verdict: Misleading
BJD is a regional party based out of Odisha. It was founded on December 26, 1997, and was named after former Odisha’s Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
While the party draws its root from Biju Patnaik, it was formed after his death on April 17, 1997.
Naveen Patnaik, who is the son of Biju Patnaik, is the founder and current President of BJD. Naveen Patnaik is also the fourth-time Chief Minister of Odisha.
Though Biju Patnaik’s son is the President of BJD, Naveen Patnaik himself founded the party after his father’s death. Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 17: Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter is the president of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)
Verdict: True
PDP was founded in 1999 by former Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. The party came to power in Jammu and Kashmir in October 2002 assembly elections.
PDP is currently headed by Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
Hence, the viral claim is true.
Claim 18: Ajit Singh’s son is the president of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)
Verdict: True
RLD was founded by Chaudhary Ajit Singh, son of former Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh. Ajit Singh founded the party in 1999 and formed the government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the July 2001 general elections. He passed away on April 20, 2021, due to coronavirus.
Jayant Chaudhary, son of Ajit Singh, became the President of RLD on May 25, 2021, after his father’s demise.
Hence the viral claim is true.
Claim 19: Om Prakash Chautala’s son is the President of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)
Verdict: Misleading
INLD came into existence in 1999, after Om Prakash Chautala, renamed Lok Dal, a party founded by his father and former deputy prime minister of India, Devi Lal.
Retired IAS officer BD Dhalia was appointed as the national vice president of the party on January 3, 2020, and Nafe Singh Rathi, former MLA, was appointed as INLD president of Haryana, reported Hindustan Times. However, Om Prakash Chautala remained the national president.
Chautala has two sons Abhay and Ajay. While Ajay is a former MP from Bhiwani and three-time MLA, the other son Abhay was the Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha and MLS from Ellenabad.
Abhay Chautala is a senior party member and his father and brother are both serving a 10-year sentence in connection with a junior basic teacher recruitment scam.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
Claim 20: MK Stalin’s son is the president of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
Verdict: Misleading
DMK was founded by CN Annadurai on September 17, 1949. Later, in 1969, Karunanidhi became the president of the party and he became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after the death of the party founder Annadurai.
Karunanidhi’s son MK Stalin is the current President of DMK and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Udhayanidhi Stalin is the son of MK Stalin. He is the youth wing secretary of DMK and is MLA from Thiruvallikeni Constituency.
Hence, the viral claim is misleading.
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