Surender Pal Singh Explained

Surender Pal Singh is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Rajasthan. He was a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from the Karanpur constituency in Rajasthan from 2003 till 2008 and again from 2013 to 2018.[1] [2] [3] He was Chairman Of Rajasthan Warehousing with Cabinet Rank in 1994. He also served as Minister of Agriculture (2003-2008) and Minister of Mines and Petroleum (2013-2018). He lost his seat in the 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election to Gurmeet Singh Kooner of the Indian National Congress by a margin of 28,376 votes.[4]

In 2023 he was the BJP candidate for Karanpur Constituency (whose election were postponed due to the sudden death of INC candidate and incumbent Gurmeet Singh Kooner just a few days before polls) and the fresh elections for the constituency were conducted on 5th of January 2024 and results were declared on 8th of January 2024.

Despite this Singh had taken Oath as State Minister (Independent Charge) on 30 December 2023, just a week before the by-elections (5 January 2024) in Karanpur Assembly Constituency.[5]

However, in a recent turn of events, Congress’s Rupinder Singh Kooner emerged victorious in the bypoll, defeating BJP’s Surenderpal Singh by a margin of 11,284 votes with a total of 94,950 votes.[6] [7] On December 31, State Congress unit had written to the Election Commission of India, complaining that the appointment is in total violation of the model code of conduct and asked for singh's disqualification from contesting the bye-election slated for Jan 5.[8] [9] [10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: DOP . Dop.rajasthan.gov.in . 2016-12-16.
  2. Web site: Surender Pal Singh(Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- KARANPUR(GANGANAGAR) - Affidavit Information of Candidate . Myneta.info . 2016-12-16.
  3. Web site: Rajasthan Government Ministers List with Portfolios 2016 . Newincept.com . 2016-12-16.
  4. Web site: 2018-12-12 . 17 BJP ministers lose in anti-incumbency heat in Rajasthan . 2023-10-09 . Hindustan Times . en.
  5. Web site: 2023-12-30 . BJP candidate from Karanpur inducted as Rajasthan minister week before polling . 2024-03-05 . Hindustan Times . en.
  6. Web site: Rajasthan minister loses to Congress candidate in Karanpur assembly election . 2024-01-08 . The Economic Times.
  7. News: Mint . 8 January 2024 . Karanpur Bypoll: Congress's Rupinder beats Rajasthan minister Surenderpal . https://web.archive.org/web/20240109044436/https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/karanpur-bypoll-congresss-rupinder-beats-rajasthan-minister-surenderpal-shashi-tharoor-says-voters-don-t-like-11704709119544.html . 9 January 2024 . 9 January 2024 . en.
  8. Web site: Roytalukdar . Rakhee . Cong writes to EC over appointment of Karanpur BJP candidate as minister . 2024-03-05 . Deccan Herald . en.
  9. Web site: 2023-12-31 . Congress urges EC to disqualify Rajasthan minister Surendra from Karanpur bypoll . 2024-03-05 . Hindustan Times . en.
  10. News: Disqualify BJP nominee for Karanpur: Cong to EC . 2024-03-05 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.