Raman Singh

Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician and Former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Currently, he is the National Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[2] He is also an ayurvedic practitioner. He is also the longest serving CM of Chhattisgarh for 15 years.

Raman Singh
National Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 January 2019
President	Amit Shah J. P. Nadda
2nd Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
In office 7 December 2003 – 17 December 2018
Governor	See List Krishna Mohan Seth E. S. L. Narasimhan Shekhar Dutt Ram Naresh Yadav (Additional Charge) Balram Das Tandon Anandiben Patel (Additional Charge)
Preceded by	Ajit Jogi
Succeeded by	Bhupesh Baghel
Member of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 December 2008
Preceded by	Uday Mudliyar
Constituency	Rajnandgaon
In office January 2004 – 7 December 2008
Preceded by	Pradeep Gandhi
Succeeded by	Kheduram Sahu
Constituency	Dongargaon
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
In office 13 December 1999 – 29 January 2003
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1999–2003
Preceded by	Motilal Vora
Succeeded by	Pradeep Gandhi
Constituency	Rajnandgaon
Member of Legislative Assembly, Madhya Pradesh
In office 1990–1998
Preceded by	Rani Shashi Prabha Devi
Succeeded by	Yogeshwar Raj Singh
Constituency	Kawardha
Personal details
Born	15 October 1952[1] Kawardha, Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh), India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Veena Singh
Children	2; including Abhishek Singh

Background

Raman Singh was born in Kawardha to Vighnaharan Singh Thakur, an advocate, and Sudha Singh. After completion of schooling, he graduated from Government Science College, Bemetara in 1972. He also studied Ayurvedic Medicine at Government Ayurvedic College, Raipur.[3]

Political career

Singh joined the Bharatiya Jan Sangh as a youth member and was the president of youth wing in Kawardha in 1976-77. He progressed to become a councillor of Kawardha municipality in 1983.[1]

He was elected to Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly consecutively in 1990 and 1993 from Kawardha (Vidhan Sabha constituency). In 1999 he was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from the Rajnandgaon constituency in Chhattisgarh. In the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Singh became the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry from 1999 to 2003. He was later named as President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the new state of Chhattisgarh, and led the party to a victory in the 2003 state Assembly elections.[4] With the other main contender for the Chief Minister's post, Dilip Singh Judeo, caught in the midst of a scam, the BJP leadership named Raman Singh as Chhattisgarh's second Chief Minister, and the first person to be elected to that post.[5] He entered Vidhan Sabha by contesting bypoll in 2004 from Dongargaon. He has won 3 successive Vidhan Sabha elections - in 2008, 2013, and 2018 - from Rajnandgaon seat.

He has received praise for his organisational abilities, as reflected in his state's position with regard to implementation of a programme to improve the conditions of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The United Nations has also recognised the work done in Chhattisgarh under his leadership and the fiscal management of the state is another aspect for which he is known.[5]

He banned naxalite organisations in Chhattisgarh in 2002 under the "Salwa Judum" initiative, a move supported by the opposition party as well, led by Mahendra Karma who was assassinated by naxalites on 25 May 2013.[6] Singh was sworn in for his second term on 12 December 2008.[7] On 8 December 2013 he was re-elected as the chief minister (CM) of the state.

BJP won the election in 2013 for his third tenure as a CM of Chhattisgarh.[8] After the loss of his party in the 2018 assembly elections, he resigned as the CM of Chhattisgarh on 11 December 2018.[9]

Electoral History

• 1990 : MLA in Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, from Kawardha seat
• 1993 : MLA in Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, from Kawardha seat
• 1998 : Lost Vidhan Sabha election from Kawardha (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
• 1999 : Won Lok Sabha Election, from Rajnandgaon (Lok Sabha constituency)
• 2003 : Became Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, 2003-2018
• 2004 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Dongargaon seat, via a by-poll
• 2008 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
• 2013 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon
• 2018 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon. And Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha.
• 2018 : EX.Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh

References

1. "Biodata: Dr. Raman Singh" (PDF). Government of Chhattisgarh. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
2. https://scroll.in/latest/909011/shivraj-singh-chouhan-raman-singh-and-vasundhara-raje-appointed-bjps-national-vice-presidents
3. "Raman Singh Biography - About family, political life, awards won, history". Elections.in. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
4. "Governor invites Raman Singh". The Hindu. 6 December 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
5. Chhibber, Devika. "Chhattisgarh: CMs in the wings". Zee News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
6. Gupta, Smita (29 May 2013). "Congress to train its guns on Raman Singh". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
7. "CHHATTISGARH: Raman's clean image helped BJP". IBN Live. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
8. Bagchi, Suvojit (19 November 2013). "A record 74.65% polling in Chhattisgarh phase-II". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
9. RaipurDecember 11, IndiaToday in; December 11, 2018UPDATED; Ist, 2018 18:50. "Raman Singh resigns as Chhattisgarh CM, takes moral responsibility for loss". India Today. Retrieved 11 December 2018.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

• Official website
• Progressive Chhattisgarh Reaching New Milestones