Former Bihar agriculture minister and a veteran socialist leader, Narendra Singh, died in Patna on Monday after a prolonged illness. He was 75.
He was cremated with full state honours in Patna.
Bihar CM and Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar mourning Singh’s death, said, “He was my long-time friend and a firebrand leader during the JP movement. His death is a personal loss to me. He was also my colleague in the government.”
Narendra Singh’s son Sumit Kumar Singh, an Independent MLA from Chakai assembly seat, is the science and technology minister in the Nitish Kumar government. Another son Ajay Pratap Singh was a BJP MLA, from Jamui, between 2015 and 2020.
Singh worked with all three stalwarts of state politics – Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and the late Ram Vilas Paswan of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). He was the most famous upper-caste Rajput leader in Jamui and Banka region after former the late Union Minister Digvijay Singh.
Tejashwi Yadav, RJD leader, said: “I also used to get affection of Narendra Singh ji. He was known for his frankness in political circles.”
Singh began his political career as an MLA from Chakai in Jamui in the 1980s and represented the constituency several times.
Jamui resident Bimal Singh said, “Narendra Singh’s death has created a political void not just in the area but in state's politics. He was among the last of the socialists. He carried a legacy of his illustrious father and now it is left to his sons to carry forward Narendra Singh’s legacy”.