Loved by some and hated by many in equal measures, Amar Singh, who was called by his detractors the 'Machiavelli' of Indian politics and a “friend of a friend” by his well-wishers is no more, having breathed his last in a hospital in Singapore thousands of kilometres away from the fields of politics--New Delhi and Lucknow where he played his power pranks.
Singh, who rubbed shoulders with the film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and corporates--Ambani brothers and Sahara’s Subroto Roy was equally at ease in his relationship with grassroots politicians with a rural background like Mulayam Singh Yadav but towards the end of his day he had become kind of a political pariah with no party daring to induct him even as in both the BJP and the Congress, there were many who wanted him for his “skills” that endeared Singh as it brought scorn for him in equal measure.
A Congress politician in a private conversation had once called him “Corporate Thakur” during a discussion on the representation of politicians from Rajput (Thakur) communities in all parties.
Many parties used Singh’s troubleshooting and fund-raising skills, the two qualities that saw the rise of the former Samajwadi Party general secretary from a small industrialist from Azamgarh to the mover and shaker in power corridors of UP and Delhi.
Singh, who had got into a sleazy audiotape controversy in 2011, had revealed many secrets of the political life of many friends and foes in both public and private conversation but equally, he also kept many of the secrets with him including the role of the country’s top-notch politicians in the UPA’s trust vote of 2008. Though later he characterised it as the “greatest blunder to support UPA’s trust vote” but the dark details behind the sordid drama of wads of cash notes displayed by BJP MPs in the Lok Sabha were never out. He was later sent to jail in the case and this rankled him that despite the party “using” him did not induct him.
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Singh, who had undergone a kidney transplant, died in Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore where he was undergoing treatment. He was accompanied by his wife and two daughters.
Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled him as an “energetic public figure”, who witnessed some of the major political developments from close quarters and known for his friendship across many spheres of life. Samajwadi Party chief and former UP CM Akhilesh, who had got into a bitter war of words with Singh in 2016, tweeted a photograph of Singh with his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. President Ram Nath Kovind said Singh was a man of many parts, and an able Parliamentarian.
Singh, whose will moved the political career of many in Samajwadi Party for 14 years since 1996, had to quit the party unceremoniously in 2010 after a fierce fight with party’s Muslim face Azam Khan and Mulayam Singh’s brother Ramgopal Yadav—both who vociferously opposed his return to the party in 2016. While Singh had many friends straddling across various fields of politics, film and business, one person who firmly stood by him in his thick and thin was movie star Jaya Prada, who was also expelled along with him from SP.
Also Read: Amar Singh witnessed some major political developments from close quarters: PM Narendra Modi
Singh’s short-term attempt at floating his own party Rashtriya Lok Manch in 2011 bombed so was a short-lived failure was his association with Rashtriya Lok Dal. Mulayam Singh Yadav backed him to the hilt after his second coming into the SP, made him a Rajya Sabha member and appointed him party general secretary despite Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘outsider’ attack on but when the control of the organisation passed into the hands of the son, Singh became irrelevant. In his last years, he was inching close to the BJP and had even attended events with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
From his hospital bed, he issued a video message on Jyotiraditya Scindia joining BJP in March this year, expressing amusement at the way politics takes turns.
On Scindia attacking Congress after 18 years of association, Singh, who often emphasised on “pragmatism in politics” advised him to “let the window at least open even if the doors are closed so that air can come in”.
He was so active on social media that earlier in the day, he posted messages on Twitter, paying tributes to Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his 100th death anniversary and also wishing people on Eid.
The leader, who was passionately attached to political life, frequently issued video messages from the hospital bed, something that only the death could severe from him.