Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Sir Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo KCIE (31 March 1912 – 23 February 1975) was an Indian politician and the last ruler of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

before Indian independence in 1947. He was the President of the

Ganatantra Parishad The Ganatanra Parishad (GP) or the All India Ganatantra Parishad (AIGP) was a regional political party based in Orissa state in eastern India from 1950 to 1962. This political party was formed by the former rulers of the erstwhile princely states ...

political party from 1950 to 1962 and the President of the Odisha state unit of the

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly soci ...

after its merger with the Ganatantra Parishad in 1962. He was the

Chief Minister of Orissa The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Followin ...

from 1967 to 1971.

Early life

Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was born to Raja Aditya Pratap Singh, the ruler of the

Seraikela Saraikela (also spelled Seraikella) is the district headquarters and a nagar panchayat in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It was formerly the capital of the Odia Saraikela Sta ...

and Rani Padmini Kumari Devi. He was adopted by Maharaja Prithwiraj Singh Deo of Patna state. He studied in the Mayo College in Ajmer and the St. Columbia's College in Hazaribagh. He became the Maharaja of Patna state in 1924 and assumed full powers in 1933. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(KCIE) in the 1946 New Year Honours list. In 1948, the princely state of Patna was merged with the Union of India.

Political career

In 1951, Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was elected to the

1st Lok Sabha The First Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952 after India's first general election. The 1st Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years and was dissolved on 4 April 1957. The First Session of this Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. ...

from Kalahandi Bolangir constituency in Odisha as a

candidate. In 1957, he was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Titlagarh constituency and became the leader of the opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly. After the fall of the minority

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 ...

government, the Ganatantra Parishad formed a coalition government with the Congress on 22 May 1959. Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo became the finance minister in this government. The coalition government collapsed on 21 February 1961 and the

President's rule In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional ...

was imposed. In 1961, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Kantabanji constituency. In 1967, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Bolangir constituency and became the Chief Minister of Odisha on 8 March 1967. He led a coalition government formed by the Swatantra Party and the

Orissa Jana Congress Orissa Jana Congress (Orissa Peoples Congress), generally just called the ''Jana Congress'', was a political party in the Indian state of Orissa. The Jana Congress was formed in 1966 when Harekrushna Mahatab (former Orissa Chief Minister) left th ...

Harekrushna Mahatab Harekrushna Mahatab (21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was the leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and again from 1956 to 1961. He wa ...

. He resigned from the office on 9 January 1971 and on 11 January 1971 the

was imposed. In 1971 and 1974, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the same constituency.

Notes

External links

Maharaja R N Singh deo's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deo, Rajendra Narayan Singh 1912 births 1975 deaths People from Balangir district People from Kalahandi district People from Odisha Leaders of the Opposition in Odisha Chief Ministers of Odisha India MPs 1952–1957 Swatantra Party politicians Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights All India Ganatantra Parishad politicians Odisha MLAs 1967–1971