Raghuvansh Prasad Singh
The RJD parliamentary party leader has won the Vaishali seat fourth time.
A socialist to the core, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh comes back to the Union Ministry after his two brief stints in the United Front Government. A product of JP movement, Singh had his baptism in politics in his young days when he took active part in political agitations and underwent inprisonment.
Having won the Lok Sabha elections from Vaishali in Bihar for the fourth time in a row, Singh, born on June 1946, did his MSc and PhD and was a lecturer in Mathematics in Goenka College, Sitamarhi, under Bihar University. He was dismissed from the University service during emergency and was reinstated later.
He was minister of state for power in Bihar between 1977 and 1979 as he got his maiden entry to the state assembly in 1977. Singh, a close aide of RJD boss Laloo Prasad Yadav, was Deputy Speaker of the state assembly in 1990 when Yadav stormed to power in Bihar. He won the assembly election in 1980 on Janata Party (S) ticket and on Dalit Mazdoor Kisan party ticket in 1985. He joined Janata Dal in 1987 and lost the assembly elections in 1990 from Belsand in Bihar.
He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1996 for the first time and became Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry and Dairy (independent charge). In 1997-98, Singh was Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs (independent charge) before his re-election to the 12th Lok Sabha for the second term in 1998.