Ajay Rai | |
|---|---|
 Rai in 2024 | |
| President of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee | |
| Assumed office 17 August 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Brijlal Khabri |
| Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2012–2017 | |
| Preceded by | constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Avadhesh Singh |
| Constituency | Pindra |
| In office 1996–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Udal |
| Succeeded by | constituency dissolved |
| Constituency | Kolasla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 October 1969 Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress (2012–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Bharatiya Janata Party (1996–2009) Samajwadi Party (2009-2012) |
| Spouse | Reena Rai |
| Parent(s) | Surendra Rai (father) Parvati Devi Rai (mother) |
| Residence(s) | Maldahiya, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth |
Ajay Rai (born 7 October 1969) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian National Congress since 2012. He is a five-time MLA from Uttar Pradesh. He is the current Uttar Pradesh Congress chief.[1]
A local strongman in the Varanasi area, Rai has changed his party affiliations several times. He began his political career as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party's student wing. He won the Legislative Assembly elections from the Kolasla constituency three times in a row between 1996 and 2007 on a BJP ticket. He left the party after being denied a Lok Sabha ticket. He then joined the Samajwadi Party and unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Subsequently, he won the 2009 Legislative Assembly by-election from the Kolasla constituency as an independent. He joined the Indian National Congress in 2012. After the Kolasla constituency ceased to exist post-delimitation, he won the 2012 Assembly elections from the newly created Pindra constituency, which comprises a sizeable portion of the former Kolasla constituency.
He was the Congress candidate for the Varanasi parliament seat in the 2014, 2019, and 2024 general elections, and lost to Narendra Modi.[2][1][3][4]
- ^ a b Who is Ajay Rai? A history-sheeter, he lost to Modi by 5 lakh votes in 2014 Lok Sabha election, The Financial Express (April 25, 2019)
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
eci2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ No Priyanka Gandhi vs Narendra Modi faceoff in Varanasi, Congress fields Ajay Rai, India Today (April 25, 2019)
- ^ "യുപിയിൽ മോദിയെ വിറപ്പിച്ച 'ലോക്കൽ ബോയ്'; തോറ്റിട്ടും അജയ് റായ് ബാഹുബലി; '24x7 ജനങ്ങള്ക്കൊപ്പം'". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). Retrieved 10 June 2024.