Dr. Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician and Former

Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh The chief minister of Chhattisgarh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief ...

. Currently, he is the National Vice-President of 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 ...

. He is also an ayurvedic practitioner. He is also the longest serving CM of Chhattisgarh for 15 years.

Background

Raman Singh was born in

Kawardha Kawardha is a town and a municipality in Kabirdham district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Kabirdham district. Kawardha is also known for the "Temple of Bhoramdeo." The Member of Legislative asse ...

to Vighnaharan Singh Thakur, an advocate, and Sudha Singh. After completion of schooling, he graduated from Government Science College, Bemetara in 1972. In year 1975 he also studied Ayurvedic Medicine at Government Ayurvedic College,

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...

Political career

Singh joined the

Bharatiya Jan Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) ( ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the po ...

as a youth member and was the president of youth wing in

in 1976-77. He progressed to become a councillor of Kawardha municipality in 1983. He was elected to

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 ...

consecutively in 1990 and 1993 from Kawardha (Vidhan Sabha constituency). In 1999 he was elected to the

13th Lok Sabha The 13th Lok Sabha (10 October 1999 – 6 February 2004) is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha (House of the People, or lower house in the Parliament of India). It was convened after 1999 Indian general election held during September–Oc ...

from the

Rajnandgaon Rajnandgaon is a city in Rajnandgaon District, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. the population of the city was 163,122. Rajnandgaon district came into existence on 26January 1973, as a result of the division of Durg district. History ...

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. 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. 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

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 Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

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. He banned Naxalite organisations in Chhattisgarh in 2002 under the "

Salwa Judum Salwa Judum (meaning "peace march" or "purification hunt" in the Gondi language) was a militia that was mobilised and deployed as part of counterinsurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the regio ...

" initiative, a move supported by the opposition party as well, led by Mahendra Karma who was assassinated by Naxalites on 25 May 2013. Singh was sworn in for his second term on 12 December 2008. 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. By introducing distribution of major commodities such as wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene through a network of fair price shops called the

public distribution system The Public Distribution System (PDS) is an Indian food security system that was established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to distribute food and non-food items to India's poor a ...

(PDS), Singh has earned nation wide popularity. 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. BJP won the election in 2013 for his third tenure as a CM of Chhattisgarh. After the loss of his party in the 2018 assembly elections, he resigned as the CM of Chhattisgarh on 11 December 2018.

Electoral history

* 1990 : MLA in Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, from Kawardha seat * 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) * 2003 : Became Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, 2003-2018 * 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 * 2018 : MLA in Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, from Rajnandgaon. * 2018 : National Vice President of Bhartiya Janta Party.

References

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External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Raman 1952 births Living people Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1990–1992 Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1993–1998 Chhattisgarh MLAs 2000–2003 Chhattisgarh MLAs 2008–2013 Chhattisgarh MLAs 2003–2008 India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from Chhattisgarh People from Kabirdham district Chhattisgarh MLAs 2013–2018 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Chhattisgarh People from Rajnandgaon