Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo

Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo KCIE (31 March 1912 – 23 February 1975) was an Indian politician and the last ruler of the princely state of Patna in Odisha before Indian independence in 1947. He was the President of the Ganatantra Parishad political party from 1950 to 1962 and the President of the Odisha state unit of the Swatantra Party after the merger of the Ganatantra Parishad with it in 1962. Deo was elected multiple times to the Odisha Legislative Assembly. He served as the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1967 to 1971. Early in his political career, Deo served as a Member of Parliament in the 1st Lok Sabha.

Early life and education

Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was born in a royal Rajput family to Raja Aditya Pratap Singh, the ruler of the small princely state of Seraikela and Rani Padmini Kumari Devi. He was adopted by Maharaja Prithwiraj Singh Deo of Patna state, which had been ruled by Chauhan Rajputs. In 1948, Patna was merged with the Union of India.

In 1957, he was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Titilagarh constituency and also became the leader of the opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly. Then he merged his party Ganatantra Parishad with Swatantra Party. He became the head of the Odisha state unit of the Swatantra Party.

In 1967, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Bolangir constituency. He became the Chief Minister of Odisha in March 1967. In 1971 and 1974, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the same constituency.

Personal life and family In 1932, aged 20, Deo married Kailash Kumari Devi, the daughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. Deo and Kailash Kumari Devi had two children, Raj Raj Singh and Ananga Udaya Singh. Deo's children and his descendants have been active in Odisha politics.