Former MP and father of MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh passes away at 87

Kunwar Anand Singh, former member of Parliament from Gonda and father of Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, passed away in Lucknow at the age of 87.

According to family sources, Singh's health suddenly deteriorated at his residence and he was rushed to a hospital, where he breathed his last on Saturday night.

Several political leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, expressed condolences on his demise. 

  Born on January 4, 1939, Singh hailed from the erstwhile Mankapur royal family. He was the son of Raja Raghvendra Pratap Singh, who had served as an MLA from the Swatantra Party.

After completing his early education at Colvin Taluqedar College in Lucknow, he pursued a BSc in Agriculture from the Agriculture Institute in Allahabad (now Prayagraj). He subsequently managed agricultural affairs of his estate.

Anand Singh was married to Veena Singh, daughter of former Rajya Sabha MP and Barabanki MLA Bindumati Devi. The couple had three daughtersNiharika Singh, Radhika Singh, and Shivani Raiand one son, Kirti Vardhan Singh, who currently represents Gonda in the Lok Sabha and serves as MoS for External Affairs, Forest and Environment.

Anand Singh entered politics following the death of his father and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1964, 1967, and 1969.

On the advice of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, he joined the Congress, his family sources said. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gonda in 1971, and again in 1980, 1984, and 1989. However, in the 1991 general elections during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement wave, he was defeated by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In 1996, he lost the seat to Brijbhushan's wife Ketki Devi Singh.

Singh distanced himself from parliamentary politics thereafter. 

However, he contested and won from the Gaura constituency in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, and served as the state's agriculture minister in the Akhilesh Yadav-led government. He retired from active politics after this.

Widely known as the UP Tiger, Singh held considerable sway in eastern Uttar Pradesh politics. His influence in the Gonda district was such that the party often handed him blank symbolsnomination forms without candidates' namesfor assembly elections.

It was widely believed that a nod from the Mankapur royal household was enough to secure positions such as MLA, zila panchayat chairperson, or block pramukh. His demise marks the end of an era in Uttar Pradesh politics.