Dinesh Singh: BJP’s Contender in Raebareli Against Rahul Gandhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has designated Dinesh Pratap Singh as its contender for the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat, which has been a Congress stronghold for years. Mr Singh, a thrice Member of the Legislative Council in UP, will confront former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who took over from his mother Sonia Gandhi in the family stronghold.

Mr Singh had been defeated in the 2019 elections by Mrs Gandhi by a margin of more than 1.6 lakh votes.

Here are some particulars about Dinesh Pratap Singh:

1. Born on October 3, 1967, Dinesh Pratap Singh hails from the Gunawar Kamangalpur village in Rae Bareli district. Mr Singh graduated from Feroze Gandhi Degree College, Raebareli, in 1986.

2. Mr Singh commenced his political journey in 2004 with the Samajwadi Party, unsuccessfully contesting as an MLC. Three years later, he switched to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and contested his initial Assembly elections. Despite BSP establishing the government in Uttar Pradesh at the time, Mr Singh lost his seat.

3. In 2010, Dinesh Pratap Singh switched parties once more, joining the Congress and winning two consecutive terms as an MLC. In 2017, he was suspended from the Congress for allegedly behaving inappropriately with the general secretary of the Raebareli Congress committee and other local party leaders. He was also accused of trying to undermine Kishori Lal Sharma, AICC general secretary and Sonia Gandhi’s representative in the constituency.

4. In 2018, he joined the BJP and contested against Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In 2022, he was elected as an MLC again, this time with the backing of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP.

5. Dinesh Pratap Singh has asserted that regardless of “which Gandhi comes to Raebareli, they will be defeated”. Mr Singh is believed to have significant influence in the Thakur community.