Ajit Singh (politician, born 1939)

Ajit Singh was born on 12 February 1939 in Bhadola village, Meerut district, United Provinces (now part of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand), to Gayatri Devi and Charan Singh, prime minister of India from 1979 to 1980. He grew up in a Hindu Jat family which was deeply rooted in politics and agriculture. He completed his early schooling in Meerut, before pursuing higher education. Singh earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lucknow University and went on to study at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur), where he obtained a Bachelor of Technology. He furthered his education abroad, securing a Master of Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in United States. After his studies, Singh worked in the computer industry in the US for 15 years, including a notable stint with IBM during the 1960s and early 1970s, before returning to India and entering politics in 1986. ==Political career==

Singh was one of the most dynamic leaders of India, especially worked for farmers and on the economic condition of India. When he was Commerce and Industry Minister in V. P. Singh's government, he drafted and tried to pass the bill against License Raj, which was unsuccessful since most of the parties were against it. When the Chandra Shekhar Government fell, prime minister P.V Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh passed the same bill in the Parliament. This bill was one of the major reforms of Indian history better known as the Liberalization reforms of India, which opened the country for the Global market. Ajit Singh entered into politics in May 1986 by joining Lok Dal. He was made general secretary and a member of central parliamentary board of Lok Dal. Within months of joining politics, he removed Mulayam Singh Yadav from the position of Lok Dal legislature party leader in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. In 1989, he was General Secretary of Janata Dal after all the parties decided to merge under the leadership of VP Singh to take on the Indian National Congress. Ajit Singh brought in most political strength from Uttar Pradesh to VP Singh during that election. He was elected to Lok Sabha (the lower house of Indian Parliament) from Baghpat in 1989. He was Minister of Industry in V. P. Singh's cabinet from December 1989 to November 1990. In 1999, he relaunched his party with the name Rashtriya Lok Dal. He lost the 1998 election and was re-elected in 1999, 2004 and 2009. From 2001 to 2003, he was Minister of Agriculture in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government. ==Personal life==

He was married to Radhika Singh, and had one son and two daughters. His son, Jayant Chaudhary, was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. == Death ==

Singh died on 6 May 2021 on 8:20 AM IST at the age of 82, due to complications from COVID-19. He had tested positive for COVID on 20 April 2021 and was admitted to a private hospital in Gurugram, Haryana, where his condition deteriorated due to a lung infection. His son, Jayant Chaudhary, confirmed his death, noting that Singh “battled his condition till the very end.” Due to the ongoing covid pandemic, his cremation was a low-key affair in Delhi, attended only by close family members to comply with COVID-19 protocols. Singh’s death prompted widespread condolences from political leaders, including prime minister Narendra Modi, who praised his dedication to farmers, and congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who expressed sorrow at the loss. ==See also==