Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi (born 21 January 1962) is an Indian politician of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

party from

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. Hailing from the Chambal region, he has been a four-time

Member of Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

of the

Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha or the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Madhya Pradesh state in India. The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Bhopal, the capital of the state. It is housed in the ''Vidha ...

from the

Bhind Bhind is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the Bhind district. Demographics As of 2011 Indian Census, Bhind had a total population of 197,585, of which 105,352 were males and 92,233 were females. Populati ...

constituency since 1990. Previously, he had served the 13th

as the deputy leader of the opposition and as the leader of the opposition. Prior to that, he was a minister in Chief Minister

Digvijaya Singh Digvijaya Singh (born 28 February 1947) is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He is Ex-General Secretary of the Indian National Congress party's All India Congress Committee. Previously, he had served as the ...

's cabinet between 1998 and 2003.

Early life

Chaturvedi was born on 21 January 1962 in

, Madhya Pradesh. He completed his primary education from

before pursuing a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LL.B) from Hamidia College,

Barkatullah University Barkatullah University is a state government university in Bhopal, India. Originally known as the ''University of Bhopal'', and informally as ''Bhopal University'', it was renamed in 1988 after the freedom fighter Professor Maulavi Barkatullah, ...

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

and graduated in 1985. Further, in 1987, he received a Master of Arts in Sociology from

. His father, Chaudhary Dilip Singh Chaturvedi was a

from

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

representing

constituency following the 1980 election; and as the President of

University of Lucknow The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...

's Students' Union, 1955–56, he led the Indian delegation to the historic Afro-Asian Students Conference held at

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in 1956. The hereditary title of

Chaudhary Chaudhary (or Choudhary ; also: Chaudhuri, Choudhuary, Chowdhury) is a hereditary title mainly in South Asia, mainly used by Jats, Gurjar and Bhumihars. Chowdhury (Hindi: चौधरी/चौधुरी/चौधारी; Urdu: چودھر� ...

– recognising the tutelary lordship, was conferred on his great grandfather. His younger brother,

Chaudhary Mukesh Singh Chaturvedi Chaudhary Mukesh Singh Chaturvedi (born 15 March 1967) is an Indian politician belonging to the Bhartiya Janta Party predominantly working in Madhya Pradesh. He is currently serving as the state vice president for Bharatiya Janata Party, Madhya ...

, is a state

Bharatiya Janta Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

leader, who represented Mehgaon as a

in the 14th

following the 2013 elections. Chaturvedi administers the Chaudhary Dilip Singh Foundation. Taking his father's legacy forward, who established the first all-girls school in the division, the foundation runs various educational institutions intending to provide better access to quality education in the

Chambal division The Chambal Division is an administrative geographical unit of Madhya Pradesh state of India. A river by the name Chambal, a tributary of Yamuna River, forms the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, in the upper part of the Chambal Div ...

, with a special effort on education for females up to college level. He is married to Manju Chaturvedi of

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur prin ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and the couple has a daughter and two sons.

Political career

Early years

Chaturvedi started his political journey in 1979 when he became the President of

National Students' Union of India The National Students Union of India, the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress), was established on 9 April 1971. The organisation was founded by Indira Gandhi after merging the Kerala Students Union and the West Benga ...

. He also served as the General Secretary of

Indian Youth Congress The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. While ...

, Bhind district between 1983 and 1985, and was later elected as the Director of Bhind Marketing Society in 1987. He became a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

as an

representative from

in the 1990 elections to the 9th

. This was the same constituency that his father had won as an MLA in the 1980 elections as a

candidate, in the same year when the party was formed, to the 7th

He was President of the

District Congress Committee A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

between 1995 and 1996. Chaturvedi was re-elected as a

following the 1996 by-election to the 10th

. After third term re-election to the 11th

following 1998 elections, Chaturvedi took oath as Cabinet Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Environment portfolio in Chief Minister

's cabinet in the

Government of Madhya Pradesh Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executive, ...

Legislative performance

As a recognition of his competence and exemplary knowledge of parliamentary rules and regulations – he was conferred with the 'Pt. Kunji Lal Dubey Excellent MLA award' on 8 August 2003. Chaturvedi was also nominated to the chairperson's panel several times. He has served as the chairman of several committees in different terms, including the estimates committee, the privilege committee, the public undertakings committee and other select committees. Chaturvedi maintained

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

's stronghold on the

seat and registered his fourth victory to the 13th

following the 2008 elections. He was appointed as spokesperson of

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) is the Pradesh Congress Committee (state wing) of the Indian National Congress (INC) serving in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Current President of MPCC is Kamal Nath. Structure and composition Madhya P ...

and

MLAs in the

between 2008 and 2013. Acknowledging his parliamentary potential,

Jamuna Devi Jamuna Devi (29 November 1929 – 24 September 2010) was a leader of Indian National Congress party from Madhya Pradesh. She was a member of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly and served as the leader of Opposition and deputy chief minister of ...

, the then leader of the opposition, appointed him as the deputy leader of the opposition. After her demise, he served as the leader of the opposition in the

Floor-crossing and homecoming

Chaturvedi switched from

in July 2013. His younger brother,

won the 2013 elections from Mehgaon constituency to the 14th

as a

candidate. On 20 April 2019, Chaturvedi returned to

in presence of the then party general secretary

Jyotiraditya Scindia Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia (born 1 January 1971) is an Indian politician who serves as the Minister of Civil Aviation, a position his father also held from 1991 to 1993. He also heads the Ministry of Steel. He is a Member of Parliament i ...

at his election nomination rally in Shivpuri. Chaudhary was made the Star Campaigner for 2021 Damoh Legislative Assembly By-Election by the

. On 26 July 2021, Chaudhary was made the

in-charge of

Morena Morena is the headquarter city of Morena district, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is governed by a municipality corporation. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Chambal division. It is from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. G ...

. Bridging differences, former Leader of Opposition

Ajay Arjun Singh Ajay Singh, also known as Rahul Bhaiya, is an Indian politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh. He is Ex-Leader of Opposition of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, also has been elected 5 times from Churhat Vidhan Sabha constituency of M ...

and Chaudhary officially met after 9 years on April 30, 2022 upholding the commitment to strengthen

References