Swatantra Dev Singh is an Indian politician who is known for resigning from the post of BJP chief and cabinet minister of the BJP on 10 August 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Swatantra Dev Singh was born on Friday, 13 February 1964 (age 58 years; as of 2022) in Ori Village, Jamalpur Block, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1985 at Bundelkhand University, Jhansi.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: White
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Swatantra’s father’s name is Allar Singh, and his mother’s name is Rama Devi.
Swatantra Dev Singh with his mother
He has one elder brother Shripat Singh, who works as a police officer.
Wife & Children
The name of his wife and children is not known. He has two daughters and one son.
Swatantra Dev Singh with his family
Religion
Swatantra follows Hinduism.
Swatantra Dev Singh performing a Hindu ritual
Caste
Swatantra belongs to the Kurmi caste.
Career
Swatantra started his political career when he was in college. He contested the student union president elections from DVC College in Orai, Mirzapur in 1985, but lost. In 1986, while he was in college, he joined the RSS and worked as the pracharak of the Sangh. In 1989, started working as an organization minister in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). In 1994, he became the in-charge of the Yuva Morcha of Bundelkhand. In 1996, he became the General Secretary of Yuva Morcha. In 1998, he again became the General Secretary of BJP State Yuva Morcha. In 2001, he was elected as the president of BJP’s Yuva Morcha of Uttar Pradesh. In 2004, he was elected as a member of the Jhansi- Jalaun- Lalitpur Legislative Council from the Bundelkhand constituency. He was also the state general secretary of the BJP. In 2010, he became the vice-president of the BJP. In 2012, he was elected as the general minister of the BJP. In 2013, he became the in-charge of the BJP in West Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, he became in charge of the BJP membership campaign in Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, he became the chief in charge of the Ganga Yatra of Union Water Resources Development Minister Uma Bharti from Moradabad to Ballia. In 2017, he started working as the Minister of State, Transport, Protocol & Power. In 2019, he became the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Uttar Pradesh. In March 2022, he was elected as the Minister of Jal Shakti & Disaster Management in Uttar Pradesh. On 10 August 2022, he resigned from the post of BJP chief and cabinet minister of the BJP.
Awards
- In 2018, he was awarded Transport Minister of the Year by the SKOCH Group.
- In March 2022, he received the first prize for the initiatives taken for water management under his leadership.
Swatantra Dev Singh receiving first prize for the initiatives taken for water management under his leadership
Assets/Properties
Movable Assets
- Deposits in Banks, Financial Institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies: Rs. 6,17,359
- LIC or other insurance Policies: Rs. 6,12,125
Gross Total Value: Rs. 22,84,601
Immovable Assets
- Agricultural Land: Rs. 30,00,000
- Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 30,00,000
- Residential Buildings: Rs. 50,00,000
Total Immovable Assets: Rs. 1,10,00,000
Net Worth
Swatantra’s net worth as of 2017 is Rs. 13,284,601.
Facts/Trivia
- When he was a kid, he was interested in sports and was the captain of the wrestling team in his school.
- Before entering politics, he worked for the Hindi daily, Swatantra Bharat, in 1986 as a reporter.
- In 2014, he took out rallies for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and in the 2017 Assembly polls, for west Uttar Pradesh.
- In 2019, he organized rallies for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections.
- Swatantra was named Congress Singh by his parents when he was born, but because of his inclination towards the BJP, he changed his name to Swatantra Dev Singh. In an interview, one of his friends talked about him and said,
I remember we were all sitting in the RSS office when we asked him why he is called Congress. He told us his father was a Congressi, and was worried about the future of the party so gave his son this name to ensure the party’s legacy continues. But we collectively decided that his name should be changed, and that’s how Swatantra came to be.”
- He did not like the ideology of RSS when he was in college, but later, when he tried to understand it better, he was impressed by the ideology and he joined the RSS.
Swatantra Dev Singh during the initial days of his political career
- In 2021, he talked about the Samajwadi Party at a media conference and said that the party promoted family politics. In the statement, he said,
Remaining away from family-based politics, the BJP has given important posts to hardworking people in the organisation and the government. Even a common worker in our party can dream of sitting at the top position. Whereas, in the SP, BSP and Congress, ordinary workers are kept away from top posts because of the importance given to families.”
- In April 2022, he launched the fuel conservation mega campaign ‘Saksham-2022’ at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.