Chaudhary Ajit Singh
Encyclopedia
Chaudhary Ajit Singh is an India
n politician and a prominent Jat leader from Western Uttar Pradesh
. He is the founder and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal
, a political party recognised in the India
n state of Uttar Pradesh
. He was born on 12 February 1939 at village Bhadola in the Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh. He is the son of former prime minister of India
and Jat leader Choudhary Charan Singh
. He is married and has one son and two daughters. His son Jayant Chaudhary
is a member of 15th Lok Sabha
.
. He has a special interest in agriculture
and modern technology
. He worked in the U.S. computer industry for 17 years, returning to India in the early 1980s to revive the Lok Dal party founded by his father Charan Singh
who was the prime minister of India and had huge following amongst the farmers.
member for Uttar Pradesh
in 1986, and is a seven time member of the Lok Sabha
. Singh formed his own faction of the Lok Dal called Lok Dal (Ajit) in 1987 and a year later merged it with the Janata Party
, as part of a deal by which he became President of the merged party. When the Janata Dal was formed by a merger of the Janata Party
, H. N. Bahuguna's faction of the Lok Dal and the Jan Morcha
, Singh was elected its secretary general. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and re-elected in 1991.
He became a Union minister for Industry in 1989-90 when he was inducted into the National Front
government of Vishwanath Pratap Singh.
In the mid-nineties, he moved to the Congress Party
, then in power, with a large slice of the Janata Dal MPs. He went on to become the food minister under the Congress government (1995-96) when P. V. Narasimha Rao
was the prime minister. After winning the 1996 Lok Sabha poll on a Congress ticket, he left the party within a year to form the Bharatiya Kisan Kamgar Party. He resigned from Lok Sabha membership and contested the consequent bye-election as a BKKP candidate in Baghpat, defeating his nearest Indian National Congress
candidate Mukhiya Gurjar.
Singh lost the 1998 election, the only election he has lost in his political career, to Bharatiya Janata Party
candidate Som Pal but avenged the defeat in 1999 after floating his new party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal
.
In July 2001, his party tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and he joined the BJP-led government as the important Cabinet Minister for Agriculture. He subsequently joined an alliance between the BJP and Bahujan Samaj Party. In May 2003, only a few months before the BJP and BSP parted ways, Ajit withdrew from the government and the Cabinet. That led to the collapse of the bsp government.
When Mulayam Singh Yadav came to power, Singh supported him up until early 2007, after which he left the government due to differences on farmers policies. His party contested 2009 loksabha-election under BJP led National Democratic Alliance and he was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha
from Baghpat.
is currently M.P. from Mathura constituency in Uttar Pradesh
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n politician and a prominent Jat leader from Western Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. He is the founder and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal is a political party in India. Ajit Singh is the party president. He is carrying on the political legacy of Charan Singh and the original Lok Dal..Ch. Charan Singh was a great farmer leader and was a former Prime Minister of India...
, a political party recognised in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. He was born on 12 February 1939 at village Bhadola in the Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh. He is the son of former prime minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
and Jat leader Choudhary Charan Singh
Choudhary Charan Singh
Chaudhary Charan Singh was the fifth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, serving from 28 July 1979 until 14 January 1980.Born into a Jat family in 1902, Charan Singh entered politics as part of the Independence Movement...
. He is married and has one son and two daughters. His son Jayant Chaudhary
Jayant Chaudhary
Jayant Chaudhary is an Indian politician. He is a the General Secretary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal and a member of Parliament representing Mathura in Uttar Pradesh state in the 15th Lok Sabha....
is a member of 15th Lok Sabha
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...
.
Education
Ajit Singh was educated at Lucknow University, IIT Kharagpur and the Illinois Institute of TechnologyIllinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
. He has a special interest in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and modern technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. He worked in the U.S. computer industry for 17 years, returning to India in the early 1980s to revive the Lok Dal party founded by his father Charan Singh
Choudhary Charan Singh
Chaudhary Charan Singh was the fifth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, serving from 28 July 1979 until 14 January 1980.Born into a Jat family in 1902, Charan Singh entered politics as part of the Independence Movement...
who was the prime minister of India and had huge following amongst the farmers.
Political career
Ajit Singh first entered Parliament as a Rajya SabhaRajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
member for Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
in 1986, and is a seven time member of the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
. Singh formed his own faction of the Lok Dal called Lok Dal (Ajit) in 1987 and a year later merged it with the Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
, as part of a deal by which he became President of the merged party. When the Janata Dal was formed by a merger of the Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
, H. N. Bahuguna's faction of the Lok Dal and the Jan Morcha
Jan Morcha
The Jan Morcha was founded by V. P. Singh when he was dismissed from his post of Defence Minister and subsequently left the Congress Party in 1987.Together with Arun Nehru, Arif Mohammed Khan, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, V. C...
, Singh was elected its secretary general. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and re-elected in 1991.
He became a Union minister for Industry in 1989-90 when he was inducted into the National Front
National Front (India)
The National Front was a coalition of political parties, led by the Janata Dal, which formed India's government between 1989 and 1990 under the leadership of N. T. Rama Rao as President and V. P. Singh as Convener. The coalition's prime minister was V. P. Singh...
government of Vishwanath Pratap Singh.
In the mid-nineties, he moved to the Congress Party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
, then in power, with a large slice of the Janata Dal MPs. He went on to become the food minister under the Congress government (1995-96) when P. V. Narasimha Rao
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Pamulaparti Venkata "Narasimha Rao" was the ninth Prime Minister of India . He led an important administration, overseeing a major economic transformation and several home incidents affecting national security of India. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj. He is often referred to as...
was the prime minister. After winning the 1996 Lok Sabha poll on a Congress ticket, he left the party within a year to form the Bharatiya Kisan Kamgar Party. He resigned from Lok Sabha membership and contested the consequent bye-election as a BKKP candidate in Baghpat, defeating his nearest Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
candidate Mukhiya Gurjar.
Singh lost the 1998 election, the only election he has lost in his political career, to Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
candidate Som Pal but avenged the defeat in 1999 after floating his new party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal is a political party in India. Ajit Singh is the party president. He is carrying on the political legacy of Charan Singh and the original Lok Dal..Ch. Charan Singh was a great farmer leader and was a former Prime Minister of India...
.
In July 2001, his party tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and he joined the BJP-led government as the important Cabinet Minister for Agriculture. He subsequently joined an alliance between the BJP and Bahujan Samaj Party. In May 2003, only a few months before the BJP and BSP parted ways, Ajit withdrew from the government and the Cabinet. That led to the collapse of the bsp government.
When Mulayam Singh Yadav came to power, Singh supported him up until early 2007, after which he left the government due to differences on farmers policies. His party contested 2009 loksabha-election under BJP led National Democratic Alliance and he was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...
from Baghpat.
Personal life
His son, Jayant ChaudharyJayant Chaudhary
Jayant Chaudhary is an Indian politician. He is a the General Secretary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal and a member of Parliament representing Mathura in Uttar Pradesh state in the 15th Lok Sabha....
is currently M.P. from Mathura constituency in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.