Chaudhary Ajit Singh, former Union Minister and the chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), died on Thursday, May 6, after battling COVID-19 complications. He was 82. The news of his demise was informed by his son in a tweet. Singh had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 20 and was undergoing treatment for the same at a hospital at Gurugram. Condolences poured in at the demise of the veteran leader. Here's a quick look at his stride in the political spectrum.

Singh was a prominent leader in Western Uttar Pradesh and played a vital role in many coalition governments. Top brass leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi among several other political leaders also paid tribute to the politician, who was known to be a prominent voice of farmers.

Here's Jayant Chaudhary's tweet:

Here's a Look Back at Chaudhary Ajit Singh Political Journey:

  1. The RLD chief was a seven-time MP and Union Minister in the governments of VP Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh.

  2. Singh played a vital role in the western UP's politics and favorite leader of farmers. The son of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, Ajit Singh quit his job at IBM to return to India and join politics when his father fell ill.

  3. He became a Rajya Sabha member in 1986. He went on to win many Lok Sabha elections from Baghpat, his father's constituency. He only lost twice from Baghpat, in 1998 and then in 2014.

  4. Throughout his political career, he was known to stitch up with key alliances that mostly landed him on the ruling side.

  5. He was the President of Lok Dal (A) and Janata Party in 1987 and 1988.

  6. In 1989, he joined the Janata Dal when many parties decided to merge under the leadership of VP Singh to fight against Congress. When VP Singh was Prime Minister, Ajit Singh took over as Industries Minister.

  7. Later, Singh joined the Congress and became Union Food Minister in the Narasimha Rao government. He won the 1996 election as a Congress candidate but quit the party the same year and formed his own Rashtriya Lok Dal. He was Minister of Agriculture in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government from 2001 to 2003. In 2011, his party joined the Congress-led UPA and he became Civil Aviation Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and consoled the death of the veteran leader. Expressing grief at the death of Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, the Prime Minister said he was always dedicated to the welfare of farmers. Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind said he is 'saddened' at the demise of RLD President and former Union minister.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 06, 2021 11:52 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).