Rajya Sabha member and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh died Saturday after battling an illness. He was 64.
Amar Singh was undergoing treatment for kidney-related illness at a hospital in Singapore.
Rajya Sabha member and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh died Saturday after battling an illness. He was 64.
Singh was undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailment at a hospital in Singapore for several months.
Singh had undergone kidney transplant in 2011 and was not keeping well for a long time.
He is survived by his wife Pankaja Singh and two dauthers --Drishti and Disha.
A colourful and flamboyant politician who often did not pay much heed to demands of political correctness in his interactions, including with media, Amar Singh shot into the league of political bigwigs as Mulayam Singh Yadav's confidant.
Many believed that Yadav liked Amar Singh for his cross-party and industry links, and go-getter attitude that helped his party navigate demands of realpolitik.
He is believed to have played a crucial role in swinging the Samajwadi Party's support for the UPA in 2008 after the Left parties withdrew their support due to their opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Amid pressure from SP's old guard and growing differences with Mulayam Singh, Amar Singh resigned from various party posts. He was later expelled from the party in 2010, ending his nearly two-decade long association with the SP leader. Later, his name emerged in the alleged cash-for-vote scam and he was arrested in 2011.
Amar Singh did not spare even Mulayam Singh Yadav as he fought for political relevance, and he was back in favour with the party patriarch after a few years of political oblivion.
It was said Yadav needed him as much as he needed him, and he was sent to the Rajya Sabha again in 2016.
During his first stint with the SP from 1996 to 2010, Amar Singh built an extensive network for the party, and was often spotted with celebrities, from the Bachchans to Anil Ambani to Subrata Roy.
But as Akhilesh Yadav got control of the party, he was expelled again in 2017.
Since then he had warmed up to Prime Minister Modi and the RSS, and announced his decision to donate his ancestral properties in Azamgarh to the Hindutva organisation.
Condoling the death of Rajya Sabha MP, PM Modi described him as an energetic public figure, who had witnessed some major political developments from close quarters.
"Saddened to know about the death of senior leader and parliamentarian Amar Singh," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
President Ram Nath Kovind condoled Singh's death, saying he was a man of many parts and an able parliamentarian.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav paid tributes to the leader on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the former Samajwadi leader had posted messages on Twitter, paying tributes to Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his 100th death anniversary and also wishing people on Eid.