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Raman Singh

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Raman Singh
Official portrait, 2019
Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 December 2023
GovernorB. Harichandan
Ramen Deka
DeputyDharamlal Kaushik
Preceded byCharan Das Mahant
Member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 December 2008
Preceded byUday Mudliyar
ConstituencyRajnandgaon
In office
January 2004 – 7 December 2008
Preceded byPradeep Gandhi
Succeeded byKheduram Sahu
ConstituencyDongargaon
2nd Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
In office
7 December 2003 – 17 December 2018
Preceded byAjit Jogi
Succeeded byBhupesh Baghel
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
In office
13 October 1999 – 29 January 2003
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
MinisterMurasoli Maran
Arun Shourie
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1999–2003
Preceded byMotilal Vora
Succeeded byPradeep Gandhi
ConstituencyRajnandgaon
Member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
In office
1990–1998
Preceded byRani Shashi Prabha Devi
Succeeded byYogeshwar Raj Singh
ConstituencyKawardha
Personal details
Born (1952-10-15) 15 October 1952 (age 72)[1]
Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseVeena Singh
Children2; including Abhishek Singh

Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2023. Formerly, he served as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh and holding the position for three consecutive times. He is also a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly representing Rajnandgaon since 2008 and from Dongargaon from 2004 to 2008.[2]

He is the longest serving Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, and held the position for 15 years from 2003 to 2018. Previously he also served as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industries in the Vajpayee cabinet from 1999 to 2003, Member of the Lok Sabha from Rajnanadgaon from 1999 to 2003. Before the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, he was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Kawardha from 1990 to 1998.

He is also the former National Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party from 2019 to 2023.

Early life and education

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Raman Singh was born in Kawardha, in a Hindu Rajput family, to Vighnaharan Singh Thakur, an advocate, and Sudha Singh.[3] After completion of schooling, he graduated from Government Science College, Bemetara in 1972. In the year 1975 he also studied Ayurvedic Medicine at Government Ayurvedic College, Raipur.[4]

Political career

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Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party as a youth member and was the president of youth wing in Kawardha in 1976-77. He progressed to become a councillor of Kawardha municipality in 1983.[1]

He was elected to Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly consecutively in 1990 and 1993 from Kawardha (Vidhan Sabha constituency). In 1998 general election he lost the kawardha seat . After that in 1999 he was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from the Rajnandgaon constituency in Chhattisgarh. In the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Singh became the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry from 1999 to 2003. He was later named as President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the new state of Chhattisgarh, and led the party to a victory in the 2003 state Assembly elections.[5] With the other main contender for the Chief Minister's post, Dilip Singh Judeo, caught in the midst of a scam, the BJP leadership named Raman Singh as Chhattisgarh's second Chief Minister, and the first person to be elected to that post.[6] He entered Vidhan Sabha by contesting bypoll in 2004 from Dongargaon. He has won 3 successive Vidhan Sabha elections - in 2008, 2013, and 2018 - from Rajnandgaon seat.

He has received praise for his organisational abilities, as reflected in his state's position with regard to implementation of a programme to improve the conditions of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The United Nations has also recognised the work done in Chhattisgarh under his leadership and the fiscal management of the state is another aspect for which he is known.[6]

He banned Naxalite organisations in Chhattisgarh in 2002 under the "Salwa Judum" initiative, a move supported by the opposition party as well, led by Mahendra Karma who was assassinated by Naxalites on 25 May 2013.[7] Singh was sworn in for his second term on 12 December 2008.[8] On 8 December 2013 he was re-elected as the chief minister (CM) of the state. In August 2017, Chief Minister Raman Singh completed 5000 days as the Chief Minister of the state.[9] By introducing the Public Distribution System (PDS) and other schemes, Singh earned nationwide popularity.[10] As a move to encourage the start-up culture and offering several incentives for start-up entrepreneur he started the "Startup Chhattisgarh" scheme. His other initiatives include promotion of digital technology, interest free agricultural loans in addition to banning the naxal groups, which made him popular in Chhattisgarh. Singh's government had received attention for number of welfare measures like Medical care, food security, the Charan Paduka Yojana that entitles people to free shoes, the Saraswati Cycle Yojana that promises a free bicycle to school-going girls, and Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yatra Yojana that allows the elderly to go on their desired pilgrimage, it had introduced in the course of the 15 odd years it had been in power, despite poverty and agrarian distress for 18 years.[11]

BJP won the election in 2013 for his third tenure as a CM of Chhattisgarh.[12] After the loss of his party in the 2018 assembly elections, he resigned as the CM of Chhattisgarh on 11 December 2018.[13]

He has been serving as the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since December 2023.[14]

Public image

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Raman Singh is famous in Chhattisgarh as Chaunr Wale Baba means “Baba with Rice”. After Chhattisgarh became a new state, he did a lot of development work and his contribution cannot be forgotten. His image among the people of Chhattisgarh is that of an educated, soft-spoken and sociable person. Naxalites were wiped out from many districts of Chhattisgarh during his tenure.

Electoral performances

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  • 1990 : MLA in Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, from Kawardha seat[15]
  • 1993 : MLA in Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, from Kawardha seat
  • 1998 : Lost Vidhan Sabha election from Kawardha (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
  • 1999 : Won Lok Sabha Election, from Rajnandgaon (Lok Sabha constituency)[15]
  • 2003 : Became Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, 2003-2018[16]
  • 2004 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Dongargaon seat, via a by-poll
  • 2008 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon and 2nd term Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh
  • 2013 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon and 3rd term Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh[17]
  • 2018 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon.
  • 2018 - 18 December 2023: National Vice President of Bhartiya Janta Party.[18]
  • 2023 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon.
  • 2023 : Speaker of Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biodata: Dr. Raman Singh" (PDF). Government of Chhattisgarh. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh and Vasundhara Raje appointed BJP's national vice presidents". 10 January 2019.
  3. ^ "How BJP's Longest Serving CM Raman Singh Lost the Plot in Chhattisgarh".
  4. ^ "Raman Singh Biography - About family, political life, awards won, history". elections.in. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Governor invites Raman Singh". The Hindu. 6 December 2003. Archived from the original on 22 March 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b Chhibber, Devika. "Chhattisgarh: CMs in the wings". Zee News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  7. ^ Gupta, Smita (29 May 2013). "Congress to train its guns on Raman Singh". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. ^ "CHHATTISGARH: Raman's clean image helped BJP". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Raman Singh: Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh latest news, Photos and videos". The Times of India. Times of India. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  10. ^ Press Trust of India (13 December 2016). "'Gentleman politician' Raman Singh completes 13 years as Chhattisgarh CM". Business Standard. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  11. ^ Adrija, Roychowdhury (12 December 2018). "Raman Singh: His development agenda lost against three terms of voter fatigue". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  12. ^ Bagchi, Suvojit (19 November 2013). "A record 74.65% polling in Chhattisgarh phase-II". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
  13. ^ "Raman Singh resigns as Chhattisgarh CM, takes moral responsibility for loss". India Today. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  14. ^ Drolia, Rashmi (19 December 2023). "Raman Singh unanimously elected speaker of assembly in Chhattisgarh". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b "How BJP's Longest Serving CM Raman Singh Lost The Plot In Chhattisgarh". Outlook. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  16. ^ Rahul, Noronha (3 June 2020). "Dr Raman Singh (still) calls the shots". India Today. India Today. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  17. ^ BusinessLine (12 December 2013). "Raman Singh sworn in as Chhattisgarh CM". Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ The Economic Times (18 December 2023). "Chhattisgarh: Former CM Raman Singh resigns as BJP VP". Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  19. ^ Rajjapan, Sumi (10 December 2023). "Chhattisgarh to get 2 deputy Chief Ministers, Raman Singh to be Speaker". India Today. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raman Singh.
Lok Sabha
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Rajnandgaon
1999 – 2003 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
7 December 2003 – 16 December 2018 		Succeeded by
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