Digvijay Singh (Bihar politician)

Shri Digvijay Singh (14 November 1955 – 24 June 2010) was an Indian politician from the state of Bihar and was an Independent Member of the Parliament of India representing Banka in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. He died on 24 June 2010 in London after suffering a Brain Hemorrhage.दिग्विजय सिंह का अंतिम संस्कार सोमवार को

Digvijay Singh served as a Member of the Parliament of India five times – three times in the Lok Sabha (1998, 1999, 2009) and two times in the Rajya Sabha (1990, 2004). He served as Union Minister of State in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government (1999–2004) and Chandrashekhar Government (1990–1991). He was also a successful sports administrator, having served as President of the National Rifle Association of India since 1999.

Childhood and education

Digvijay Singh was a native of Gidhaur, in Jamui district (Bihar), the only son of late Shri Kumar Surendra Singh and Late Shrimati Sona Devi. He was also related to the erstwhile royal estate of Gidhaur.

He studied at the famous Patna University before doing his M.A and M.Phil from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He also studied at Tokyo University for some time.

Later, he turned down an offer to teach in Tokyo university and took up a career in politics in India.

Digvijay Singh was called 'Dada' by the people who knew him, an affectionate word meaning 'elder brother'.

Early career

Digvijay Singh got involved in Politics from his student times and he was the President of the prestigious student union of the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

In 1983, Digvijay Singh accompanied veteran socialist politician Chandrashekhar during his 'Bharat Yatra' march through the heartland of India.

Political career

Digvijay Singh was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1990. He remained in the Rajya Sabha until 1996. In 1994, when George Fernandes created the Samata Party as an offshoot of the Janata Dal party, Digvijay Singh was one of the founding members along with Nitish Kumar. Digvijay served as the spokesperson of the Samata Party.

He was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha (1998) on the Samata Party ticket and for a second term again in the 13th Lok Sabha (1999) from the same Banka Lok Sabha Constituency in Bihar. In October, 2003, the Samata Party was merged with the Janata Dal (United), which is in power in the state of Bihar since 2005.

Digvijay Singh was narrowly defeated by a margin of 2800 votes in the 2004 General Elections. However, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the second time in his career in 2004.

In April 2009, Digvijay Singh voluntarily resigned from the Rajya Sabha before going on to run as an independent candidate for the Banka Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 General Elections. He won from the Banka Lok Sabha seat for the third time on May 16, 2009.

Union Minister in Central Government

In 1990, when the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government at the Center fell later that year and Chandrashekhar formed a government with the outside support of the Congress Party, Digvijay Singh was made a Union Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance and Union Deputy Minister, Ministry of External Affairs.

In 1998, Digvijay Singh went on to join the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government at the center, becoming Union Minister of State, Ministry of Railways from 13 October 1999 – 22 July 2001, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce and Industry from 22 July 2001 – 1 September 2001, again Union Minister of State, Ministry of Railways from 1 September 2001 – 30 June 2002. From 1 July 2002 – 12 May 2004, he was Union Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs.

Sports administration

Digvijay Singh served as the President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) from 1999 until his death. He was also the Vice-President of the Indian Olympic Association. It was during his tenure at NRAI that Indian shooters achieved considerable success at the international level – in particular, Indian shooters won two Olympic medals (Raghavendra Singh Rathore won Silver in Athens Olympics 2004 and Abhinav Bindra won Gold in the Beijing games 2008.) during this time.

While he was a minister at the Central Government, Digvijay Singh was instrumental in getting the Sports Authority of India to open a Special Area Games Center in his hometown of Gidhaur.

Social work

Digvijay Singh built the Sona Devi Charitable Hospital in his home town of Gidhaur. He also created a foundation, the Gidhaur Foundation, which organizes social and cultural functions every year.

Personal life

Digvijay Singh was married to Putul Kumari and had two daughters, Mansi Singh and Shreyasi Singh.

External links

• Profile on Rajya Sabha website
• Article on JNU Alumni
• Article on NRAI
• Article on birth of political parties
• Article mentioning nickname
• Digvijay Singh passes away.
  • दिग्विजय सिंह का अंतिम संस्कार सोमवार को