Raghuraj Pratap Singh
Member of the Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pradesh
Assumed office
1993
Preceded byShiv Narain Mishra
ConstituencyKunda
Minister of Food and Civil Supplies & Prison
In office
2004–2007
2012–2017
Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare, Prantiya Vikas Dal
In office
1999–2000
2000-2002
Minister of Programme Implementation
In office
1997–1999
Personal details
Born (1969-10-31) 31 October 1969 (age 54)
Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), West Bengal, India
Political partyJansatta Dal Loktantrik (2018–present)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (1993–2018)
Spouse
Bhanvi Kumari
​
(m. 1995)​
Children4 (2 sons and 2 daughters)
Residence(s)Kunda, Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh[1]
Alma materUniversity of Lucknow (1989)
ProfessionPolitician
NicknameRaja Bhaiya

Raghuraj Pratap Singh, (born 31 October 1969), commonly known as Raja Bhaiya, is an Indian politician, currently serving as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the 18th Uttar Pradesh Assembly, representing the Kunda assembly constituency of Pratapgarh.[2] He has been elected as an MLA for the seventh consecutive time since 1993 from the same constituency.[3] In 2018, he founded and became the national president of Jansatta Dal Loktantrik party.[4] Singh has held various Cabinet Minister positions in the Government of Uttar Pradesh of both Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party administrations.[5][6]

Early life and education

Raja Bhaiya was born on 31 October 1969 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal in a Rajput family.[7][8][9] His father is Uday Pratap Singh and hails from the Bhadri (estate) of Oudh. His grandfather, Bajrang Bahadur Singh, served as the first vice-chancellor of Pant Nagar Agriculture University and subsequently as the second Lieutenant Governor of Himachal Pradesh state.[10][1] Raghuraj was the first in his family to enter politics; his father is largely a recluse. Bajrang Bahadur Singh had no son, so he adopted his nephew Uday Pratap Singh as his son.[1]

He graduated from University of Lucknow in 1989.[11] He married Bhanvi Kumari Singh on 15 February 1995, with whom he has two sons and two daughters.[7][8] As per his election affidavit, Singh is an agriculturalist by profession.[11]

Political career

In the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, he was overwhelmingly elected from Kunda with a margin of nearly half the votes cast[12] over Shiv Prakash Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party. He had stood as an Independent.

He also wields considerable influence over five assembly constituencies in the Pratapgarh region, as well as some in neighbouring Bihar. In election rallies in this region where he is present, the actual candidate may never speak or even be mentioned in his speech.[13] After the 2007 elections, when Mayawati swept to power with a majority, Raghuraj again came under the police radar.

In the 2017 Assembly election, Raghuraj Pratap Singh defeated his opponent Janki Sharan from the Bhartiya Janata Party by a huge margin of 103,647 votes and acquired 136,597 votes in total. In November 2018, Singh launched his own party, the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik.[4][14]

In 2005, he became the minister for Food and Civil Supplies, and despite his pending criminal cases, he came to be assigned the highest level of security (Z-category) provided by the state,[15] though the threats against him were not specified. In 2018, he voted for the Bharatiya Janta Party in the Rajya Sabha polls against the BSP candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar.[16]

In 2019, his party contested the Lok Sabha polls alone on two seats of Pratapgarh and Kaushambi.[17]

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, Singh representing Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) defeated Samajwadi Party's Gulshan Yadav of the Samajwadi Party by a margin of 30,315 votes, acquiring a total of 99,612. Singh has consecutively been elected as the representative of Kunda assembly for the seventh time in 2022.[18][19]

Misuse of power

POTA charges

In 2002, on an FIR filed by a dissident Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Puran Singh Bundela of alleged kidnapping and threatening with dire consequences, got Raghuraj arrested on the orders of then Chief Minister Mayawati at the early hours about 4:00 A.M. of 2 November 2002. Later Mayawati-led government in Uttar Pradesh declared him a terrorist, and he was sent to jail under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), along with his father Uday Pratap Singh and cousin Akshay Pratap Singh.[20] Subsequently, Akshay managed to get bail, but Raghuraj's pleas were rejected many times.[21] In June 2006, Raja Bhaiya was acquitted of all charges by a specially designated POTA court.[22]

From jail to cabinet minister

Within 25 minutes[23] of the Mulayam Singh Yadav's government coming to power in 2003, all POTA charges against him were dropped. However, the Supreme Court of India debarred the state government from dismissing POTA charges.[23] Eventually the POTA Act was repealed in 2004, and although the court again refused to release Raghuraj.[24] He subsequently became a powerful man in the government, and was accused by police officer R.S. Pandey (who led the raid on his house) of having launched a vendetta against him.[25] Eventually R.S. Pandey was killed in a road accident,[26] which is currently being investigated by the CBI.[27]

DSP Zia Ul Haque murder case

On 3 March 2013, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zia Ul Haq was killed in Kunda, a constituency represented by Raghuraj Pratap Singh, during clashes that followed the shooting of the village head, Nanhe Lal Yadav. Following a complaint by the deceased officer's wife, Parveen Azad, a case was initiated against Raghuraj for his alleged involvement. The FIR identified Gulshan Yadav, the chairman of Kunda Nagar Panchayat, Harion Srivastava, a representative of Raja Bhaiya, Guddu Singh, Raja Bhaiya's driver, and two other villagers, Kamta Prasad Pal and Rajesh Kumar Pal, as primary suspects. Additional murder charges were filed against others named in the FIR. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case on 7 February 2013, for further investigation.[28] On 3 March 2013, Raja Bhaiya resigned from the state cabinet.[29][30] On 1 August 2013, the CBI filed the final report in the CBI court giving a clean chit to Raja Bhaiya.[31] On 11 October 2013, he was reappointed as a cabinet minister with the portfolio of Food and Civil Supplies.[32]

Dilerganj massacre

His name first surfaced in Dilerganj massacre case when bodies of young girls were found in river. A mob by a group alleged to be associated with him had torched a village where villagers had refused to pay protection money to local musclemen.[33]

CBI probe

CBI which was probing the killing of DSP Zia Ul Haq gave him a clean chit in 2013.[34]

Irregularity in PDS

CBI probe in multi crore PDS scam was initiated. It was alleged that wheat & rice were diverged from Public Distribution System and even exported when he was minister of food & civil supplies.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Singh, Ramendra (10 March 2013). "The Raja's Backyard". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Raja Bhaiya's party bags 2 seats — he in Kunda, aide in Babaganj". Indian Express. 11 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ "UP polls: Raja Bhaiya, Abhay Singh win; three other musclemen lose". Hindustan Times. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b "UP MLA Raja Bhaiya to float new party". The Times of India. PTI. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  5. ^ Upadhyay, Rohit (11 February 2022). "The Kingmaker? Rise And Fall Of Raja Bhaiya In Uttar Pradesh Politics". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Rumblings in Kunda: The Challenge to 'Criminal Politician' Raja Bhaiya". The Wire. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Members of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly". uplegisassembly.gov.in (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (UPLA): Member info". www.upvidhansabhaproceedings.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Raja Bhaiya may announce new political party". 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  10. ^ "The highs and lows of Raja Bhaiya". Hindustan Times. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Raghuraj Pratap Singh(Independent(IND)):Constituency- KUNDA(PRATAPGARH) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  12. ^ "2007 Uttar Pradesh state elections". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2022..
  13. ^ Prem Panicker (20 February 2002). "Election 2002: The secret of Raja Bhaiya's success". rediff.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  14. ^ "Uttar Pradesh: Kunda MLA Raja Bhaiyya announces new party, likely to field candidates in 2019". The New Indian Express. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  15. ^ Aman Sharma (22 June 2005). "Now, Z security for Bhaiyya". Indian Express.
  16. ^ Sharma, Aman (25 March 2018). "Samajwadi Party suspects Raja Bhaiyya voted for BJP". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Modi is popular but his MPs will struggle: Independent MLA Raja Bhaiyya". The Times of India. 7 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Uttar Pradesh - Kunda". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Kunda Election Result UPDATE: रघुराज प्रताप सिंह का फिर चला जादू, सपा प्रत्याशी को 30 हजार वोटों से हराया". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  20. ^ "The gang of Raja Bhaiyya". Times of India. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  21. ^ J.P. Shukla (15 April 2004). "Muscle and mafia links still matter in Uttar Pradesh". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2007.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ Thomas, Saji (3 June 2006). "Raja Bhaiya acquitted of Pota charges". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  23. ^ a b George Iype and Ehtasham Khan (11 March 2004). "Caught in the POTA trap: Uttar Pradesh". rediff.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  24. ^ Ram Dutt Tripathi (14 November 2005). "Politician held on terror charge". BBC News, Lucknow. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  25. ^ "Raja Bhaiya cases: DSP being 'victimised'". The Tribune, Chandigarh. 28 August 2004. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  26. ^ "Night before HC says yes to his plea for CBI probe, UP cop dies". The Indian Express. 17 January 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  27. ^ [1][dead link]
  28. ^ "UP top cop killed in gunbattle following village head's murder". India Today. 15-07-14. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  29. ^ "Deputy SP's murder: UP minister Raja Bhaiya resigns". The Times of India. 4 March 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Raja Bhaiya resigns after being booked for UP police officer's murder in Pratapgarh". The Indian Express. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  31. ^ "CBI gives clean chit to Raja Bhaiya in deputy SP murder case". The Times of India. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  32. ^ "Food ministry restored to Raja Bhaiya". Hindustan Times. 19 October 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  33. ^ a b Rashid, Omar (11 March 2013). "Raja Bhaiya's name first surfaced in Dilerganj massacre case". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  34. ^ "CBI gives clean chit to Raja Bhaiya in DSP murder case". The Indian Express. PTI. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
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