R. P. N. Singh Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography & More
Bio/Wiki | |
---|---|
Full name | Kunwar Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh [1]My Neta |
Other name | Raja Saheb of Padrauna [2]NDTV |
Nickname | Richie [3]News18 |
Profession | Politician, Agriculturist [4]My Neta |
Physical Stats & More | |
Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 170 cm in meters- 1.70 m in feet & inches- 5’ 7” |
Eye Colour | Brown |
Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
Politics | |
Political Party | • Indian National Congress (INC) (1990s- 2022) • Bharatiya Janata Party (2022- present) |
Political Journey | • Became a Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (three terms- 1996, 2002, and 2007) • Elected as the President Uttar Pradesh Youth Congress (1997-1999) • Became the Secretary of All India Congress Committee (2003-2006) • Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (2009) • Served as the Union Minister of State, Road, Transport and Highways (30 May 2009 - 18 Jan 2011) • Served as the Union Minister of State, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Corporate Affairs (18 Jan. 2011 - 28 Oct. 2012) • Served as the Union Minister of State, Home Affairs (28 Oct. 2012) • Contested the 16th Lok Sabha Elections from the Padrauna constituency but lost to Rajesh Pandey of the Bharatiya Janata Party (2014) • Chosen as the AICC in-charge of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh (2020) • Resigned from the Indian National Congress (2022) • Joined the BJP (January 2022) |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 25 April 1964 (Saturday) |
Age (as of 2022) | 58 Years |
Birthplace | New Delhi, India |
Zodiac sign | Taurus |
Nationality | Indian |
Hometown | New Delhi, India |
School | The Doon School, Dehradun, Uttarakhand |
College/University | St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi |
Educational Qualification | B.A. (Hons.) History [5]My Neta |
Religion | to a royal Kurmi Sainthwar family of Padrauna, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh [6]The Times of India |
Caste | OBC (Other Backward Class) [7]NDTV |
Address | • Present: 95, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110 003 • Permanent: The Palace, Padrauna, Distt. Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh |
Controversy | In 2014, Ratanjit attracted controversy during the Indian general elections after he took a dig at the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party Narendra Modi and said, No one has seen him selling tea. Modi himself was telling that he used to sell tea.” Further pointing towards Modi’s assurance of 24 hours power supply, Ratanjit said, "Why didn’t BJP fulfil its promise during the regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Centre and Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh in Uttar Pradesh.” He then called the party a 'Dream Seller' and said that the party could even promise to turn the water of the Saryu river into milk. |
Relationships & More | |
Marital Status | Married |
Marriage Date | 7 December 2002 |
Family | |
Wife/Spouse | Sonia Singh (a news anchor and editorial director at NDTV) |
Children | He has three daughters. |
Parents | Father- Kunwar Chandra Pratap Narayan Singh (former MP from Kushinagar (then Hata)) Mother- Mohini Devi |
Favourites | |
Style Quotient | |
Car Collection | • 2 Massey Ferguson tractors • Toyota Innova Crysta [8]My Neta |
Money Factor | |
Income (approx.) | Rs. 10,61,451 (as of 2019) [9]My Neta |
Assets/Properties | Movable Assets • Cash Rs. 2,28,000 • Bank Deposits Rs. 51,24,711 • Bonds, Debentures & Shares worth Rs. 15,90,224 • Motor Vehicles worth Rs. 20,10,898 • Jewellery worth Rs. 24,00,000 Immovable Assets • Agricultural Land worth Rs. 65,40,000 • Non-Agricultural Land worth Rs. 4,00,00,000 • Residential Buildings worth Rs. 8,55,00,000 • Other Land Rs. 21,00,000 (as of 2019) [10]My Neta |
Net Worth (approx.) | Rs. 14,54,93,833 (as of 2019) [11]My Neta |
Some Lesser Known Facts About R. P. N. Singh
- Kunwar Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh is an Indian politician and agriculturist.
- His father, Kunwar Chandra Pratap Narayan Singh, was a Minister of State for Defence in the Indira Gandhi cabinet in 1980.
- Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh began his career in politics in the 1990s.
- He won the UP Assembly elections three times, firstly in 1996, then in 2002, and for the third time in 2007. He was the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Uttar Pradesh from 1996 to 2009.
- Singh was appointed as the President of the Uttar Pradesh Youth Congress in 1997. He held the position till 1999.
- In 2003, he was elected as the Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
- He was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009 from the Padrauna constituency as a candidate of the Congress party.
- In the same year, he was chosen as the Union Minister of State, Road, Transport and Highways. He served the position till 2011.
- He then became the Union Minister of State in the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Corporate Affairs in 2011.
- He also served as the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs from 2013 to 2014.
- In 2014, Ratanjit contested the elections for the 16th Lok Sabha from the Padrauna constituency. He lost the election to Rajesh Pandey of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
- In September 2020, Singh was appointed as the in-charge of AICC from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
- In January 2022, Ratanjit formally resigned from the Indian National Congress (INC). He shared his resignation letter on his social media handles. He wrote,
I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress with immediate effect. I thank you for providing me with an opportunity to serve the nation, its people and the party.”
- After he quit the Indian National Congress, Ratanjit tweeted,
Today, when the entire nation is celebrating Republic Day, I am starting a new chapter in my political life. Jai Hind.”
- Soon after resigning from the Indian National Congress, Ratanjit joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Singh joined the BJP in the presence of Jyotiraditya Scindia, an Indian politician who left Congress to join the BJP in 2020. During the ceremony, RPN while talking to the news reporters said,
I have been in one party for the last 32 years, but today I must say that party is no longer what it used to be. Today, everyone knows that if there is one party that is working for the benefit of the people and is working on building the nation, it is the BJP.”
- After joining the BJP, Singh took to Twitter to announce the news. He wrote,
This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation-building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP President Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji.”
- During a press conference, Singh shared that he quit the Congress party as its ideology was no more the way it used to be before. He said,
I spent 32 years in one political party. But that party has not remained the same as it was before. I will work as a ‘karyakarta’ towards fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dreams for India.”
- In his leisure time, Ratanjit likes to read books, travel to different places, and play various sports.
- He is the recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Award (Gold). He won the award in 2016.
- RPN Singh was once a chain smoker. He gave up smoking owing to some serious health issues due to smoking. [13]News18
- He has also served as the secretary of Sri Aurobindo Society Centre (Padrauna), Udit Narain Degree College, Udit Narain Inter College, and Udit Narain Trust.
- From 2014 to 2018, Ratanjit remained the president of The Doon School Old Boys’ Society, an alumni body of The Doon School.
- Reportedly, Singh is the fourth Doon School alumnus who took the Congress to BJP route in recent years (from 2020 to 2022). The other three are Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, and Amarinder Singh.
- RPN often surprises people with his humble acts. One such incident was during his election campaigns in Kushinagar, where he was seen making Jalebis in a trade fair. When asked why he was doing so, Singh pointed towards the worker in a sweet shop and said,
when he can, why can’t I.”
- Singh once shared a great bond with the president of the Indian National Congress Sonia Gandhi. He was so close to Sonia that she used to stay at his family home in Padrauna whenever she visited the nearby area in Uttar Pradesh.
References/Sources: