Rajnath's first biography to hit stands in May

As election fever grips the nation, a new addition to the Indian political memoirs list will soon hit the stands. Home Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh's first political biography will release in May.

Written by film historian-author Gautam Chintamani, the book "Rajneeti" chronicles Singh's five decade-career in Indian polity.

"In this odyssey, Singh has both witnessed and played a significant role in shaping the history of India," author Chintamani said.

A statement on Wednesday announced the acquisition of the book by publisher Penguin Random House India.

It described the forthcoming biography as a gripping tell-all about "a politician who never shied away from doing the right thing".

"The son of a farmer, he has spent decades in diverse roles and is universally respected for who he is," is how publisher Milee Ashwarya introduces Rajnath Singh.

Chintamani, who has previously penned 'Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna' and has made several award-winning documentary films, said that as a biographer of Rajnath Singh's life, he "found a rare instance of a politician in contemporary India who has traversed the entire spectrum of the political journey".

He said Singh who rose from being a humble cadre in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, had emerged in the post-Emergency period, and had even served jail time in the 1970s.

Now the Home Minister, Singh helmed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its national president and saw its rise to power in 2014.

Publisher Milee Ashwarya called Singh one of the "handful of politicians who have grown from the grassroots and have made their way to the top echelons of power on the basis of their hard work, grit and determination" in the current political landscape.

The 344-page "Rajneeti: A Biography of Rajnath Singh" is priced at Rs 599 and is available for pre-order on e-commerce websites. It will be released in English.

--IANS

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