Ritesh Pandey

Ritesh Pandey (born 3 April 1981) is an Indian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament from Ambedkar Nagar. Ritesh was a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from the state of Uttar Pradesh.^[3] He joined the BSP in 2009 and stayed a member of the party until 2024. In February 2024, Pandey resigned from Bahujan Samaj Party and joined Bharatiya Janata Party.^[4] In 2012, Ritesh contested the election for the post of MLA of Jalalpur, Ambedkar Nagar unsuccessfully. He contested again and served as MLA from Jalalpur constituency in Ambedkar Nagar district, which he represented between June 2017 and May 2019. Later on, he got elected as MP in Lok Sabha ^[5] and served in office until 2024. During his tenure, Ritesh became the Floor Leader of the BSP in the Lok Sabha. He was one of the youngest parliamentarians to lead a major national party in the Parliament.^[6] Prior to this appointment, he served as the Deputy Leader.^[7] As an MP, he chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Papers Laid on the Table of the House and served on committees such as the Standing Committee on External Affairs, the Joint Parliamentary Committees on the Personal Data Protection Bill (2019) and the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill (2021), and the Consultative Committee on Renewable Energy and Power. ^[8]

Ritesh was born in Lucknow on 3 April 1981 to politician Rakesh Pandey and Manju Pandey.^[9][10] His father is a former Member of Parliament from Ambedkar Nagar and is currently serving as a sitting MLA from the Legislative Assembly of Jalalpur from Samajwadi party. His older brother, Ashish Pandey is a real estate businessman.^[11][12] Ritesh studied at the Welham Boys School in Dehradun. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in international business management from the European Business School in London in the year 2005.^[2][12]

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Pandey won from the Ambedkar Nagar as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate by defeating closest rival from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mukut Bihari, with a winning margin of 95,880 votes.^[13] In the assembly elections of 2017, he was elected as a MLA from the Jalalpur constituency, with a victory margin of over 90000 votes.^[3] In 2012, Ritesh unsuccessfully contested the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, losing to Sher Bahadur Singh from the Samajwadi Party.^[14]

Ritesh Pandey has been ranked 19th in the Parliamentary Business Survey among 539 MPs in the country. He is the youngest MP to appear in the Top-20. Ritesh has also got an excellent grade for the expenditure incurred on development works.^[15][16] He also served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Papers Laid on the Table of the House.^[17] In 2020, he became the Floor Leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party in the Lok Sabha, becoming one of the youngest parliamentarians to lead a major national party in Parliament.^[18]

Ritesh is also an active member of multiple parliamentary committees such as the Standing Committee on External Affairs, the Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the Personal Data Protection Bill,^[19] 2019 and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021.^[20]

Pandey resigned from BSP and joined the BJP on 26 February 2024,^[21] citing inactivity from the party leadership. After joining the BJP, Ritesh contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha election but lost to Samajwadi Party's Lalji Verma.^[22][23]

Ritesh Pandey is the chairman of the Raghuraji Devi Foundation Trust, working in education reform and youth events. He is the co-founder and CEO of Awadh Mutineers, a grassroots initiative providing football training and scholarships to underprivileged children.

Ritesh has been constantly raising his voice for caste equality, gender justice and sociall inclusion causes. He is an avid follower of the Baba Saheb. Based on Ambedkarite school of thought, he has fought extensively in Parliament for marginalised community-friendly policies such as EWS reservations, transgender rights, migrant welfare, press freedom and rural education.

In 2020, he established the All India Climate Action Network (AICAN), to raise climate consciousness in local languages and bridge the gap between grassroots movements and national environmental discourse.

He commenced a Parliamentary debate under Rule 193 on climate change, stressing that climate justice is non-separable from social justice.

Pandey is a vocal proponent of treating cryptocurrency as a “yuva asset class” tailored for India’s young population. He has been actively addressing the reforms on crypto including the reduction of 30% crypto tax and removal of the 1% TDS to prevent regulatory barriers that might stifle innovation in the Parliament.

He has participated in parliamentary debates and public conversations supporting financial literacy around crypto and urging clearer regulation to harness its long‑term potential for youth empowerment.

He has consistently emphasized the need for responsible adoption and awareness programs for emerging digital asset classes. In July 2025, Pandey took to his X account and addressed the at hand issues related to Crypto in India. He advocated for the need of laws for better regulation of the currency along with reduction of TDS on the same.

Pandey is the chairman of the Raghuraji Devi Foundation Trust who works on reforming education and promoting youth cultural events. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Awadh Mutineers, a grassroots sports initiative that trains and supports underprivileged children for playing football.^[24]

• Ritesh Pandey on Facebook