Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo ( or, ସଙ୍ଗୀତା କୁମାରୀ ସିଂହଦେଓ) (born 3 December 1961) is an Indian politician and the wife of the titular Maharaja of Bolangir, an erstwhile princely state located in

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 ...

. She is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from

Bolangir Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a city and municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir has one of the best cultural heritage in India. It is also known as one of the finest places for tourists ...

and member of the

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 Mo ...

. She is a member of the National executive of the party.

Background and family

Sangeeta was born into the minor

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

nobility of

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 s ...

. Her natal family held an estate of five villages of which the largest was Kerote (or Kirot). Her father, Amar Singh, was a younger son and therefore he inherited little, but he entered government service, serving as an officer in the elite

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

. He retired as PR in-charge at the

AIIMS The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , Government of India. These institutes h ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. Sangeeta grew up in a middle class milieu and graduated from Delhi university with a BA in political science. In October 1985, and in a match arranged by their parents in the usual Indian way, Sangeeta was married to Kanakvardhan Singh Deo, son and heir of the Maharaja of Patnagarh-Bolangir, an erstwhile princely state located in

. The couple settled in Delhi and became the parents of a single child, a daughter named Nivritti. In January 2014, again in a match arranged by their families in the usual Indian way, Nivritti was married to Lakshyaraj Singh, only son and heir of Shriji Arvind Singh of Mewar.

Career

Kanakvardhan's father and grandfather had both been active and successful politicians. His grandfather, Maharaja

Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo Maharaja Sir Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo KCIE (31 March 1912 – 23 February 1975) was an Indian politician and the last ruler of the princely state of Patna in Odisha before Indian independence in 1947. He was the President of the Ganatantra ...

, who had enjoyed absolute ruling power within his state during the period 1933–47, had adjusted very well to democracy after independence, and excelled in politics to the extent of serving as

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 ...

during the period 1967-71 as a member 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 ...

. Kanakvardhan's father has also been a member of parliament twice. Inevitably, Kanakvardhan was drawn to politics and served for four terms as member for Patnagarh in the Odisha state assembly. The family felt the need to ensure that the national parliamentary seat covering their former kingdom should also be under their control. Kanakvardhan therefore made Sangeeta a member of his party, the

Bharatiya Janata 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 Mod ...

, and arranged for her to contest parliamentary elections. Sangeeta won the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat in 1998, 1999 and 2004 and thus was a member of the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...

and

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nation ...

s. She lost the polls in 2009 and again in 2014 to a member of her own family, her husband's first cousin, Kalikesh Singh Deo, who is a prominent member of the

Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the party ...

. Sangeeta took third position in the 2009 elections and second place in 2014.

External links

Members of Fourteenth Lok Sabha - Parliament of India website

Nivritti Kumari Singh Deo official Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deo, Sangeeta Kumari 1961 births Living people India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2019–present Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Odisha Women in Odisha politics Lok Sabha members from Odisha State cabinet ministers of Odisha National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election People from Balangir 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Women state cabinet ministers of India Women members of the Lok Sabha