Prem Singh (Delhi politician)

Prem Singh was born in at Lado Sarai, Delhi.[3] His father, Chaudhary Himmat Singh was a Congress party worker and a participant in the Indian Independence movement. Prem Singh graduated in science from Delhi College (now Zakir Husain Delhi College) in 1952.[2]

Prem Singh joined the Indian National Congress in 1952, at the insistence of his mentor C. Krishnan Nair (CK Nair), who was a senior Congress MP and known as the initial nominee to become the first CM of Delhi.[2] In 1958, he became the youngest member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the first chairman of its Committee on Delhi Rural Area. He was re-elected to MCD in 1962. He went on to serve on the Education and Works committees of MCD, and also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Zonal Committee.[4]

In 1967, Prem Singh was elected to the newly constituted Metropolitan Council of Delhi (predecessor of the Delhi Legislative Assembly). He was re-elected to the Metropolitan Council in 1972, 1977 and 1983.[5] He served as an Executive Council member during the Fourth Metropolitan Council (1983–1990).[6]

Also in 1967, he was elected as a member of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), the decision-making body of the Congress in Delhi. In 1969, he became a member of All India Congress Committee, the central decision-making assembly of the party. He went on to win consecutive DPCC elections in 1972, 1977 and 1983. He served as the General Secretary of DPCC during 1969–1975, and as its president in 1977 and during 1988–1992.[4]

He was elected to the first Legislative Assembly of Delhi in 1993, and went on to win the next three elections in 1998, 2003 and 2008. He also served as the speaker of the second (1998–2003) and the third (2004–2008) Assemblies.[4] In 2013, he lost the election to Aam Aadmi Party's Ashok Kumar, coming third.[7]

Prem Singh lived in the Lado Sarai area of Mehrauli with his wife Shivkauri; the couple had 6 daughters and 2 sons.[4] His son Pramod Choudhary (born 1971) was also elected to the MCD in 2007, but lost elections in 2012.[8][9] His other son Yaduraj Chaudhary also dabbled in politics as a member of the Delhi Youth Congress.[10]

Prem Singh suffered a heart attack while participating in a party event on B. R. Ambedkar's death anniversary (Mahaparinirvan Divas) on 6 December 2017. He was admitted to the Heart & Lung Institute but on 9 December 2017, he was shifted to Max Hospital (Saket), and died there on 12 December 2017 after having 4 more heart attacks.[1]