Umang Singhar

Umang Singhar (born 23 January 1974) is an Indian politician from Madhya Pradesh and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He is the 19th Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, a position he has held since December 2023, succeeding Govind Singh. He is widely regarded as one of the most prominent Adivasi (tribal) leaders in Madhya Pradesh. He served as the Minister for Forest and Environment in the Kamal Nath government from December 2018 to March 2020. His political journey is closely connected to his aunt, the late Smt. Jamuna Devi, who served as Deputy Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and was also Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.

Political career

Entry into politics Umang Singhar joined the Indian National Congress and began his political career in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. In 1998, he contested the Dharampuri assembly seat but was defeated by a small margin. Recognising his energy and growing popularity among young party workers, the Congress appointed him president of the District Youth Congress in 2001.

Election results (2008–2023) The table below summarises Umang Singhar's election results from 2008 to 2023. All four elections were contested from the Gandhwani constituency in Dhar district as the Indian National Congress candidate.

Symbolic protests in the Legislative Assembly As Leader of the Opposition, he has become known for leading a series of theatrical, symbolic protests inside and outside the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly premises to highlight issues against the state government. During the 2025 monsoon session, he led Congress MLAs in a demonstration in which two legislators were dressed as buffaloes while others played a traditional flute (been) in front of them, a symbolic reference to the Hindi idiom for a hopeless effort, used to accuse the BJP government of being unresponsive to public concerns. During the same session, Congress MLAs under his leadership also arrived at the Assembly carrying symbolic packets and syringes representing MD drugs, questioning the state government's inaction against the drug trade and alleged links between drug traffickers and ruling-party leaders.

National-level roles within the Congress party Within the Indian National Congress, he has been given national-level responsibilities on more than one occasion. In October 2024, he was appointed by the All India Congress Committee as Senior Observer for the Vidarbha zone (Amravati and Nagpur districts) of Maharashtra for the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election, working alongside former Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Charanjit Singh Channi.

He has also served as a member of the Congress party's Pradesh Election Committee for Himachal Pradesh, alongside chairperson Deepa Dasmunsi, as confirmed by the party's own records.

Tribal welfare and Adivasi work He is widely recognised as one of the most prominent Adivasi (tribal) political leaders in Madhya Pradesh. His political identity and public positions have consistently centred on the rights, welfare, and empowerment of tribal communities. He has repeatedly spoken about Jal, Jungle, Zameen (water, forest, and land) — a long-standing demand of tribal movements across India. Speaking at a gathering of tribal people in Anuppur district, he urged Adivasi communities across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and other states to send a large number of representations to the President of India demanding a distinct religion code, warning that without such recognition their identity would continue to be recorded under other religious categories in the census.

Constituency work As a four-time MLA from Gandhwani constituency in Dhar district, he has been involved in several development initiatives for his constituents.

He played a role in the appointment of a female doctor at the Gandhwani government hospital, addressing a long-standing concern of women patients in the area who preferred to consult a woman doctor.

He has also worked on rural infrastructure in his constituency, including the construction of a culvert (pulia) in Garadi gram panchayat in the Tanda area of Gandhwani constituency, to improve road connectivity for nearby villages.