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Digvijay Singh, former Union minister and a sitting Lok Sabha member of Parliament, died in London on Thursday following a brain hemorrhage. He was 55.
Singh, who was minister of state for external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had come to London along with the Commonwealth shooting team recently, when he suffered a heart attack. He was admitted to St Thomas hospital in London where he suffered a brain hemorrhage.
Singh is survived by his wife and two daughters. His elder daughter and wife were in London as he underwent treatment.
A five-time member of Parliament, Singh represented the Banka constituency in the Lok Sabha as an independent. He was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and 1999. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990 and 2004.
Singh, who was a close associate of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, had served as minister of state for railways and as MoS for external affairs in his government.
He had fought the last Lok Sabha election independently after he being denied ticket by Janata Dal-United. Singh, who belonged to the Rajput community in Bihar, had fallen out with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar before the last general elections.
JD-U general secretary and spokesperson Shivanand Tewari said Singh was active in politics since his student days and was also a member of the Lohia Vichar Manch. He was one of the founder members of the Samta Sangathan formed in Bengaluru in 1980.
Singh was also the President of the National Rifle Association of India.
Image: Digvijay Singh