Amar Singh (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amar Singh
Singh speaking at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit 2008.
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 26 November 1996 – 25 November 2014
Constituency	Uttar Pradesh
In office 5 July 2016 – 1 August 2020
Preceded by	Ambeth Rajan
Succeeded by	Syed Zafar Islam
Constituency	Uttar Pradesh
Personal details
Born	(1956-01-27)27 January 1956 Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died	1 August 2020(2020-08-01) (aged 64) Singapore
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Samajwadi Party Rashtriya Lok Dal
Spouse	Pankaja Kumari Singh ​ (m. 1987⁠–⁠2020)​
Children	2 daughters
Parents	Harish Chandra Singh (father) Shail Kumari Singh (mother)
Alma mater	University of Calcutta
Profession	Politician

Amar Singh (27 January 1956 – 1 August 2020) was an Indian politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the general secretary of the Samajwadi Party and was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. On 6 January 2010, he resigned from all the posts of the Samajwadi Party and was later expelled from the party by its chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, on 2 February 2010.

In 2011, he was arrested and spent a brief period in jail for his alleged involvement in the cash-for-votes scandal. In 2016, he was elected to Rajya Sabha with support from Samajwadi Party even after facing a stiff opposition from a section of the party including the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav. He was also reinstated as one of the general secretaries of the party in October 2016. On August 1, 2020, Singh died of a kidney ailment in Singapore at the age of 64.

Early life

Amar Singh was born on 27 January 1956 at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh to a thakur family. He got his early education at his native place. Afterward his family moved to Kolkata where he completed his graduation from St. Xavier's College and had his law education from University College of Law, Kolkata.

Amar Singh started his career as a liaison officer of K.K. Birla. K.K. Birla was the owner of Hindustan Times. Working with Birla he made inroads in journalist fraternity.

Political career

Singh's prominence in Delhi surged when the UPA government was reduced to a minority after the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and All India Forward Bloc withdrew their support over the proposed Nuclear Accord with the United States. His Samajwadi Party pledged support to the UPA government with the support of its 39 members.

Singh along with his close associate Jaya Prada were expelled from the Samajwadi Party in February, 2010 for anti party activities. On 21 December 2010, Singh launched his official website and blog.

Singh floated his own political party, Rashtriya Lok Manch, in 2011, and fielded candidates in 360 of the 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2012 assembly polls. However his party did not win a single seat in these elections. He joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal party in March 2014, contested the general elections that year from Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh in 2014 Indian general election and lost.

He was admitted at a hospital in Dubai with kidney failure and was stated to be critical on 19 February 2013.

Positions held

Amar Singh has been elected 4 times as Rajya Sabha MP. He had lost the 16th Lok Sabha election from Fatehpur Sikri in 2014 as RLD candidate.

Note: Elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016 from Uttar Pradesh as an independent member by the support of Samajwadi Party (SP).

Personal life

Amar Singh had married Pankaja Kumari Singh on 14 June 1987 and the couple have 2 daughters: Drishti Singh and Disha Singh.

Films

Amar Singh acted in many films including a small role in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai and the role of a politician in the film JD. He also acted in a Malayalam-language film Bombay Mittayi in 2011.

Death

Amar Singh died on 1 August 2020 at the age of 64 in Singapore due to kidney failure.