Amarinder Singh:

Amarinder Singh (born March 11, 1942) is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal, and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. His father was the last Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala. Prior to his political career, Singh was an officer in the Indian Army from 1963 to 1966.

Throughout his extensive political career, Singh has held various roles, including Member of the Legislative Assembly in Punjab and Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha. He has also been president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on three occasions. Singh’s terms as Chief Minister of Punjab were from 2002 to 2007 and again from 2017 to 2021. As of November 2022, he serves as the chairman of the Punjab Urdu Academy. On September 19, 2022, Singh merged his party, Punjab Lok Congress, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the BJP.

Career in Army:

Singh served in the Indian Army from June 1963 to December 1966, following his graduation from the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the Sikh Regiment and later served as the aide-de-camp to Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Command, from December 1964. Although he left the army in early 1965 to attend to family matters, he returned to service with the onset of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.

Politics:

Earlier:

Amarinder Singh was introduced to the Indian National Congress (INC) by his school friend Rajiv Gandhi, later Prime Minister of India, and was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980. In 1984, he resigned from both Parliament and the INC in protest against the Army’s actions during Operation Blue Star. He subsequently joined the Shiromani Akali Dal, was elected to the Punjab state legislature from Talwandi Sabo, and served as a minister overseeing Agriculture, Forest, Development, and Panchayats.

In 1992, Singh formed the Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) after breaking away from the Akali Dal. Following a defeat in the 1997 Vidhan Sabha elections, his party merged with the Congress in 1998 after Sonia Gandhi became Congress President.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee:

Singh served as President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) three times: 1999-2002, 2010-2013, and 2015-2017. His second term was marked by the influence of his cousin, Arvind Khanna, who managed his political strategy.

Singh has been a member of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for five terms, representing Patiala (Urban) three times, and Samana and Talwandi Sabo once each.

Chief Minister of Punjab (First time):

Singh served as Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007.

Opposition:

In 2008, Singh was expelled from the Punjab Vidhan Sabha by a special committee under an Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government due to land transfer irregularities. The Supreme Court later declared his expulsion unconstitutional in 2010.

Member of Parliament:

Singh defeated senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley by 102,770 votes in the 2014 general elections from the Amritsar seat. On November 27, 2015, he was appointed President of Punjab Congress for the upcoming 2017 elections.

Chief Minister of Punjab (Second time):

Singh led the Congress Party to victory in the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election and was sworn in as Chief Minister on March 16, 2017. His tenure was marked by internal conflicts, particularly with Navjot Singh Sidhu, and criticism over his handling of the Bargari sacrilege case. Singh resigned on September 18, 2021, due to lack of confidence from Congress MLAs and was succeeded by Charanjit Singh Channi.

Punjab Lok Congress:

After leaving Congress, Singh founded the Punjab Lok Congress on November 2, 2021. The party contested the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections but did not secure any seats.

Bharatiya Janata Party:

Following the 2022 electoral defeat, Singh’s party merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on September 19, 2022.

Family:

Singh has a son, Raninder Singh, and a daughter, Jai Inder Kaur. His wife, Preneet Kaur, served as a Member of Parliament and was Minister of State for External Affairs from 2009 to 2012.

His elder sister, Heminder Kaur, is married to former Foreign Minister K. Natwar Singh. Singh is also related to Shiromani Akali Dal (A) leader and former Indian Police Service officer Simranjit Singh Mann; Mann’s wife is Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur’s sister.