Articles about Amar Singh

Amar Singh was an influential Samajwadi Party (SP) politician known for his far-reaching connections with the big shots of the political, business, and film worlds. He came from a humble family in Uttar Pradesh but did his education in West Bengal. He graduated from St. Xavier’s College and did his LLB from University College of Law in Kolkata. In the world of politics, Singh initially tried his luck with Congress, but later met Mulayam Singh Yadav and joined SP in the 1990s. He became a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament in 1996, 2002, and 2008. However, he was thrown out of the SP in 2010 for alleged anti-party activities. After brief stints elsewhere, Singh became a Rajya Sabha MP for the last time in 2016 as an independent with support from SP. Singh was sharp and adept at forming connections and striking deals. He was often surrounded by controversies like the 2008 Cash-for-Votes scandal, the 2006 call-recording leaks, and his close friendship and eventual fall out with Amitabh Bachchan, among others. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 64 due to kidney complications.

News articles

01 Aug 2020

Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh dies at 64

In a shocking piece of news, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh died on Saturday afternoon. Singh, a former Samajwadi Party leader, was 64. He died at a hospital in Singapore.

17 Jul 2020

No action against Pilot camp till Tuesday: Rajasthan-HC to Speaker

The Rajasthan High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices served to them, till Monday.

19 Feb 2020

Amar Singh says he regrets his overreaction against Bachchan

Once close friends, former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and actor Amitabh Bachchan, infamously grew apart in the last few years.

21 Jul 2019

Not abroad, these Bollywood stars chose India for their weddings

Celebs getting married outside India is a trend probably started by Anushka Sharma, when she married Virat Kohli in December 2017, in Italy.

15 Apr 2019

Azam Khan sparks row with 'underwear' comment against Jaya Prada

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Sunday sparked a controversy after he allegedly made offensive remarks against actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada.

06 Apr 2019

Tracing Samajwadi Party's roots and relevance in Indian politics

The road to Delhi goes through Lucknow is perhaps the oldest and most relevant political slogan. And for 2019 elections, two parties, which were arch-rivals, have joined hands to ensure BJP stays out of power.

15 Aug 2018

Punjab CM announces Rs. 3,600cr-worth development projects for Ludhiana

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today announced a slew of development projects worth over Rs. 3,600cr for Ludhiana district, ranging from infrastructure to water supply and industries to education.

30 Jul 2018

Will Amar Singh join BJP? Modi's speech mentions former-SP strongman

Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi leader Amar Singh's presence at an event in Lucknow where PM Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath were present has triggered speculations about him joining the Bharatiya Janata Party.

10 Jun 2018

#Throwback: Reliving India's first ever Test match

Afghanistan would make their debut in the 5-day format when they take the field against India on June 14 in Bengaluru.

07 Mar 2018

Jaya Bachchan trounces others to become Samajwadi's RS candidate

In a surprising development, SP has announced veteran actress Jaya Bachchan as its candidate for upcoming RS polls. Earlier, the party was expected to choose someone more experienced like Naresh Aggarwal. However, MP Amar Singh claimed, "Jaya Bachchan was consistently loyal to the Samajwadi Party, its system and hierarchy."

22 Feb 2018

Re-building bonds? Amitabh Bachchan starts following Congress leaders on Twitter

Is superstar Amitabh Bachchan getting close to the Congress once again? Speculations have abounded since social media users noticed he recently started following many party leaders on Twitter.

22 Nov 2017

Mulayam Singh: The man who knows the pulse of UP

Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP patriarch, celebrates his 79th birthday today.

16 Jul 2017

Presidential polls: Ramnath Kovind, the right choice, says Amar Singh

Former SP leader Amar Singh said that NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind is the ideal choice for the president.

20 Jun 2017

Support for BJP's presidential candidate: Who's in, who's not?

A day earlier, BJP declared their presidential candidate. In an unexpected move, it chose Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind.

06 May 2017

Mitchell Johnson tells why we don't have fast bowlers

In an interview recently, Australian pace bowler Mitchell Johnson said that India does not produce many fast bowlers because the pitches are more suitable for spinners than pacers.

07 Apr 2017

MP Amar Singh alleges increasing Maoist activity at DU, JNU

Member of Parliament Amar Singh raised a question before the Human Resource Development Ministry in Parliament on April 6 on the alleged "alarming" rise in Maoist activities in institutes like Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University.

29 Dec 2016

Samajwadi Party heading for a split?

Sources stated that CM Akhilesh Yadav has asked MLAs loyal to him to go ahead and fight the upcoming polls on their own; the news comes on the heels of party supremo Mulayam releasing the first list of candidates, without Akhilesh's name on the list.

27 Dec 2016

Shivpal Yadav revokes suspension of MLA fired by Akhilesh

The Samajwadi Party's UP state chief Shivpal Yadav revoked the suspension order of MLA Rampal Yadav, who was expelled by CM Akhilesh Yadav for indiscipline.

26 Dec 2016

Akhilesh draws up list of poll candidates

In a new twist in the Samajwadi Party family feud, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav drew up his own list of candidates for the UP polls, sending to party supremo Mulayam Singh, bypassing state chief Shivpal Yadav.

04 Nov 2016

Shivpal says yatra not SP's campaign, alliance talks falter

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's Rath Yatra was dampened after SP state chief Shivpal Yadav called a press conference to announce that it was not the party's official campaign, which would begin tomorrow.

03 Nov 2016

Akhilesh Yadav to begin Rath Yatra today

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is set to begin his 'Vikas Rath Yatra' today which will be flagged off by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

25 Oct 2016

SP meet: Mulayam Singh insists SP stands as one

SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav stressed that the Samajwadi Party stood firmly together as a family, even as CM Akhilesh Yadav remained missing at the press conference.

24 Oct 2016

What made news last week?

Major political upheavals happened in the Indian political scenario; the feud within the Samajwadi Party has just widened, while Varun Gandhi landed in a soup over leaked national security secrets.

23 Oct 2016

Akhilesh sacks Shivpal, 3 others for links to Amar Singh

At a legislature meeting called at the Chief Minister's residence, Akhilesh Yadav sacked his uncle Shivpal Yadav from his cabinet post along with three other ministers he was close to.

25 Sep 2016

Kairana row: NHRC validates BJP MP's exodus claims

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) released an investigation report validating the exodus claims made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Hukum Singh in Jun'16.

23 Sep 2016

Will back Akhilesh in 2017: Shivpal

Samajwadi Party's UP State President Shivpal Yadav clarified that he would back Akhilesh Yadav for the 2017 elections, despite his supporters chanting his name for the Chief Ministerial post.

20 Sep 2016

Shivpal sacks pro-Akhilesh leaders, Amar Singh made National Secretary

Things continued to remain turbulent in the Samajwadi Party as Shivpal Yadav fired 7 pro-Akhilesh leaders from the party.

18 Sep 2016

Akhilesh reinstates Shivpal Yadav, appeals for calm

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav reinstated his uncle Shivpal Yadav to all key portfolios barring one, and promised to support him as the SP's state-unit president.