Sh. Pradyuman Singh Finance Minister of Rajasthan

The tricky electroral upheavel of 1967 which made several of Congress stalwarts fell like nine pins, had at least one surprise to offer in Rajasthan. A young man in his late twenties winning Assembly elections with one of the biggest margins of over 19000 on a Congress ticket was an achievement indeed. And this glorious debut was duly recognized by the great talent scout the late Shri Mohan Lal Sukhadia when the young man was made whip of the Congress Legislature Party immediately on his entering into Rajasthan Assembly 1967. The person who stepped into the political arena with distinction and who has never looked back since, is Pradyuman Singh. He is one of the few who have adorned the Legislative seat without and break since 1967 except 1993, when election was countermanded followed by a bye-election where ruling BOP forces became hell bent to win the seat. There after he was elected Zila Pramukh of Zila Parishad, Dholpur.

To Pradyuman Singh, born on 18th September, 1938 at Dholpur, politics has been a sort of heirloom. Baptised by his grand uncle late Seth Achal Singhji who was a power to reckon with in U.P. politics, Pradyuman Singh Plunged headlong into the field during his student days and proved his leadership qualities by becoming. President of Agra College Students Union. His early education has been at that famous nationalist Annie Besant School at Rajghat at Varanasi, social consciousness got deeply imbibed into his bsyche. And this has played a great role in shaping his political career. While his education (B.A., L.L.B.) and administrative acumen have no doubt helped him prove his mettle in all the responsibilities entrusted to him so far- and they have been many and varied- the spring board of his political activities has been the social consciousness which commands him to give first priority to the cause of the down trodden uplift. The secret of his continuous electoral success from Rajakhera Constituency (earlier held by his late father) is the fact the 19% Harijan voters of the area find in him a person whose sincerity they can count upon. His residence at Dholpur is a heaven for the needy destiitutes who are never disappointed in their hours of distress.

As to his administrative capabilities, the very face that successive Chief Ministers always picked him up to assist them in managing their own portfolio, tells all. During the penultimate spell besides holding independent charge of Irrigation, Mines, Urban Development and Local Self Govt. Departments also effectively assisted the Chief Ministers, administering the sensitive departments of Home and Finance.

It would be a glaring omission to ignore his organizational skills, who besides proving his administrative and legislative capabilities since his entry into the legislature in 1967, has unambiguously been a devotee to the Congress organization. He was, therefore, appointed Vice President of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee in 1997 and he has proved his mettle.