New Delhi: From Jammu and Kashmir politics to the power corridors of Delhi, BJP leader Jitendra Singh is a familiar face known as an efficient task master, besides being one of the trustworthy members of the past two governments headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Popularly known as “Dr Sahab”, Singh held multiple portfolios, including the Minister of State (MoS) in the all-powerful Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the last decade — in both Modi 1.0 and 2.0.
He was administered the oath as the Minister of State (independent charge) by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Sunday. Modi was also sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive tenure.
Singh’s handling of important matters related to bureaucracy, governance and approach towards the development of Jammu and Kashmir has been praised by many.
Born in Jammu, 67-year-old Singh was inducted as the MoS in the PMO in 2014 as a first-time Lok Sabha member from the Udhampur constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
Always affable, Singh served as the MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Space until the dissolution of 17th Lok Sabha recently.
The doctor-turned-politician was also the MoS (independent charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Singh won the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat for the third time, defeating Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh. Singh, who previously won the seat in 2014 and 2019, secured 5,71,076 votes, defeating Choudhary Lal Singh by a margin of 1,24,373 votes.
Lal Singh, who had won the Udhampur seat on a Congress ticket in 2004 and 2009, received 4,46,703 votes this time.
In 2019, Singh had defeated Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh by a margin of 3,53,272 votes. In 2014, he won against former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad by 60,976 votes.
Following PM Modi’s mantra of ‘maximum governance, minimum government’, Singh’s role was pivotal in initiating key reforms, including transformation of government offices, generation of wealth from waste, ensuring ease of living for pensioners and efficiently managing affairs related to the country’s bureaucracy, among others.
The central government earned Rs 1,162.49 crore in revenue by selling scrap and other unwanted items during special cleanliness campaigns it carried out between 2021 and 2023.
Singh also brought major changes to ensure time-bound resolution of governance-related grievances received from people across the country.
Singh wears many hats — a medical practitioner, author, professor and newspaper columnist. He has a flair for writing and has authored at least six books and chapters in about a dozen textbooks for postgraduate courses in medicine.
An MBBS and MD (medicine), Singh was educated at the Stanley Medical College, Chennai and at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
