Dinesh Pratap Singh

Dinesh Pratap Singh^[1] is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2018, before that he was a member of the Indian National Congress.^[2]

He has served as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from 2010, formerly as a member of the INC and, from 2022, the BJP.

He also contested the 16th Lok Sabha Elections against Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli (Lok Sabha constituency), losing by 167,178 votes. He further lost the 17th Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate from Rae Bareli against Rahul Gandhi by a margin of 3,90,030 votes.^[3]

Singh’s political journey is marked by frequent party switches and a rise through legislative roles. He began his career with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but later joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 2010. As a Congress member, he won election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC) for the first time in 2010 and was re-elected in 2016. However, his tenure with Congress was turbulent; in 2017, he was suspended from the party for allegedly misbehaving with the general secretary of the Rae Bareli Congress committee and other local leaders.

In 2018, Singh quit Congress and rejoined the BJP, marking a significant shift in his allegiance. The BJP fielded him as its candidate for the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections, where he challenged Sonia Gandhi but lost. Undeterred, he secured a third term as MLC in 2022 on a BJP ticket, winning with a record margin. Following this, he was appointed as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Uttar Pradesh government, with responsibilities in areas like horticulture and food processing. He also serves on the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh Working Committee.