'UP tiger' Kunwar Anand Singh, former MP and father of MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh, passes away at 87
Born on January 4, 1939, Singh hailed from the erstwhile royal family of Mankapur. He was the son of Raja Raghvendra Pratap Singh, a former MLA from the Swatantra Party.
Kunwar Anand Singh, a four-time MP from Gonda and father of Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, passed away in Lucknow at the age of 87. According to family sources, his health deteriorated suddenly on Sunday night. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
Prominent political figures, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, expressed condolences on Singh’s passing.
Royal lineage and early life
Born on January 4, 1939, Singh hailed from the erstwhile royal family of Mankapur. He was the son of Raja Raghvendra Pratap Singh, a former MLA from the Swatantra Party.
He completed his schooling at Colvin Taluqedar College in Lucknow and earned a BSc in Agriculture from the Agriculture Institute in Allahabad (now Prayagraj). He later managed the agricultural operations of his estate.
Singh was married to Veena Singh, daughter of former Rajya Sabha MP and Barabanki MLA Bindumati Devi. The couple had three daughters—Niharika Singh, Radhika Singh, and Shivani Rai—and one son, Kirti Vardhan Singh, the current MP from Gonda and a Union Minister.
Long political career
After the death of his father, Singh entered politics and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1964, 1967, and 1969. On the advice of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, he joined the Indian National Congress. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gonda in 1971 and again in 1980, 1984, and 1989.
However, he lost the 1991 election during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and again in 1996 to Brij Bhushan’s wife, Ketki Devi Singh.
Return to state politics
Singh later returned to active politics and won the Gaura constituency in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He served as the agriculture minister in the Akhilesh Yadav-led government before retiring from politics.
Known as “UP tiger”
Widely respected and often referred to as the “UP Tiger,” Singh held immense influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In Gonda district, he wielded such power that political parties often handed him blank nomination forms to field candidates of his choice. It was commonly believed that a recommendation from the Mankapur royal household could secure key political positions in the district.
With Anand Singh's death, a significant chapter in Uttar Pradesh’s political history comes to a close. His legacy in both state and national politics is remembered for its depth, reach, and enduring impact.