Ram Nath Kovind
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1991. He was President of the BJP Dalit Morcha between 1998 and 2002 and President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He also served as national spokesperson of the party. He donated his ancestral home in Derapur to the RSS. He contested from Ghatampur and Bhognipur (both in UP) assembly constituencies on the BJP ticket but lost both elections.