Chaudhary Prem Singh

Early life

Prem Singh was born in Jat family at Lado Sarai, Delhi. 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.

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. He served as an Executive Council member during the Fourth Metropolitan Council (1983–1990).

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.

Personal life

Prem Singh lived in the Lado Sarai area of Mehrauli with his wife Shivkauri; the couple had 6 daughters and 2 sons. Other son Yaduraj Chaudhary ventured into politics as a member of the Delhi Youth Congress. Now his eldest grandson Dev Choudhary (S/O Pramod) has followed suit and entered the political arena at the young age of just 21, ironically endorsing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because of its ideology.

Death

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.