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Nirmal Kumar Singh
Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 30 April 2018 – 19 June 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Kavinder Gupta |
| Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir | |
| In office 4 April 2016 – 29 April 2018 | |
| Governor | Narinder Nath Vohra |
| Chief Minister | Mehbooba Mufti |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| In office 1 March 2015 – 6 January 2016 | |
| Governor | Narinder Nath Vohra |
| Chief Minister | Mufti Muhammad Sayeed |
| Preceded by | Tara Chand |
| Succeeded by | Governor's Rule |
| Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 23 December 2014 – June 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Manohar Lal Sharma |
| Constituency | Billawar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 January 1956 Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Occupation | Politician |
Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh is an Indian politician and the last Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly of the Jammu and Kashmir autonomous state. He is a former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He is a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. On 1 March 2015 he assumed the charge as Minister for Power Development and Housing and Urban Development.
He was elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in the 2014 assembly election from Billawar in Kathua district. He defeated former minister Manohar Lal Sharma of Indian National Congress by a margin of 17,975 votes.[1] Dr Nirmal Singh has done PhD in History from Jammu University in 1988 and now serves as a professor of history in Jammu University.[2]
Early life and education
Dr Nirmal Singh was born on 22 January 1956 to a humble family in Karanwara Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir. He did his primary education in his native place. He is the youngest to his two brothers. His father was a security aide of erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir. He has served as the professor of History at Jammu University.
Political career
Singh started taking an active interest in political activities at a young age. He was arrested during the Emergency period in 1975. After serving the ABVP as a pracharak in different parts of the country, Dr Singh returned to Jammu and joined the University of Jammu as a lecturer in the Post Graduate Department of History. Besides teaching at the department, he also took the mantle of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad state president and following a directive from the RSS joined the BJP. He was appointed the state general secretary of the party in 1998.
Singh contested several Lok Sabha and state assembly elections over the course of 25 years but had to wait until 2014 for his maiden victory. 58-year-old Singh won the assembly election held in 2014 from Billawar constituency in Kathua district by defeating sitting Congress MLA by a margin of nearly 18,000 votes. He is among the first BJP MLAs to be sworn in as a minister in India's only Muslim-majority state. A long-time RSS supporter, the BJP leader is considered the main force behind the rise of party in Jammu region of the state over the years.
Nirmal Singh addressing people of Bhalessa Gandoh, Bhaderwah
On 30 April 2018, Singh resigned as the Deputy Chief Minister as a part of a cabinet reshuffle.[3]
References
External links
| Preceded by President's Rule |
Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir 1 March 2015 – 7 January 2016 |
Succeeded by President's Rule |
| Preceded by President's Rule |
Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir 4 April 2016-Incumbent |
Succeeded by |