View source for Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi

{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi
| image               = [[File:Chaudhary Rakesh Singh INC.jpg|Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi]]
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = 
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1962|1|21}}
| birth_place         = [[Bhind]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]]
| residence           = Chaudhary Bhawan, <br /> [[Bhind]], Madhya Pradesh, [[India]]<br/>[[Bhopal]], India
| party               = [[Indian National Congress]] <small><br />(1979–2013, 2019 – present)</small><br />[[Bharatiya Janta Party]] <small>(2013–2019)</small>
| nationality         = Indian
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Manju Chaturvedi|1987}}
| parents             = [[Chaudhary Dilip Singh Chaturvedi]]<br/> Smt. Sharda Devi
| children            = 3
| profession          = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer|agriculturist}}
| alma_mater          = [[Barkatullah University]], [[Bhopal]]<br/>(MA, [[LL.B.]])
}}
'''Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi''' (born 21 January 1962) is an Indian politician of the [[Indian National Congress]] party from [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name="myneta Chaudhary">{{Cite web|url=http://myneta.info/madhyapradesh2018/candidate.php?candidate_id=3004|title=Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi(Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- BHIND(BHIND) – Affidavit Information of Candidate |publisher=myneta.info|access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref> Hailing from the [[Chambal River|Chambal]] region, he has been a four-time [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of Legislative Assembly]] of the [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] from the [[Bhind (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Bhind]] constituency since 1990.<ref name="myneta Chaudhary" /><ref name="MPVidhansabha bio">{{Cite web|url=http://mpvidhansabha.nic.in/13thvs/13-10.PDF|title=Biography of Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi|publisher=Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha|url-status=}}</ref> Previously, he had served the 13th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] as the deputy leader of the opposition and as the leader of the opposition.<ref name="MP Legislative">{{Cite web|url=http://mpvidhansabha.nic.in/loo_.htm|title=MP Legislative Assembly|publisher=Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref> Prior to that, he was a minister in Chief Minister [[Digvijaya Singh]]'s cabinet between 1998 and 2003.

== Early life ==
Chaturvedi was born on 21 January 1962 in [[Bhind district|Bhind]], Madhya Pradesh. He completed his primary education from [[Bhind district|Bhind]] before pursuing a [[Bachelor of Laws]] (LL.B) from Hamidia College, [[Barkatullah University]], [[Bhopal]] and graduated in 1985. Further, in 1987, he received a Master of Arts in Sociology from [[Barkatullah University]], [[Bhopal]].

His father, [[Chaudhary Dilip Singh Chaturvedi]] was a [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of Legislative Assembly]] from [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]] representing [[Bhind district|Bhind]] constituency following the 1980 election; and as the President of [[University of Lucknow]]'s Students' Union, 1955–56, he led the Indian delegation to the historic [[Bandung Conference|Afro-Asian Students Conference]] held at [[Bandung]], [[Indonesia]] in 1956.<ref name="elec 1980">{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/1980-election-results.html|title=Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election Results in 1980|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wood|first=Sally Percival|year=2012|editor-last=McDougall|editor-first=Derek|editor2-last=Finnane|editor2-first=Antonia |editor3-last=Lee|editor3-first=Christopher J.|title=Retrieving the Bandung Conference... moment by moment|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|volume=43|issue=3|pages=523–530|issn=0022-4634|jstor=23321100|doi=10.1017/S0022463412000379}}</ref> The hereditary title of [[Chowdhury|Chaudhary]] – recognising the tutelary lordship, was conferred on his great grandfather.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DfeBAAAAMAAJ&q=chowdhury+title+brahmin|title=The Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India|date=2002|publisher=The Survey|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AyDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA501|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland|last1=Hanks|first1=Patrick|last2=Coates|first2=Richard|last3=McClure|first3=Peter|date=17 November 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780192527479|language=en}}</ref>

His younger brother, [[Mukesh Choudhary (politician)|Mukesh Singh Chaturvedi]], is a state [[Bharatiya Janata Party|Bharatiya Janta Party]] leader, who represented [[Mehgaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Mehgaon]] as a [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of Legislative Assembly]] in the 14th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] following the [[2013 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|2013 elections]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/mehgaon.html|title=Mehgaon(Madhya Pradesh) Election Result 2018 Updates: Candidate List, Winner & Runner-up MLA List|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="dads legacy">{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/assembly-elections-2013/madhya-pradesh-assembly-elections/Ashok-Rohani-gets-dads-legacy/articleshow/25338467.cms|title=Ashok Rohani gets dad's legacy |newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

Chaturvedi administers the [[Chaudhary Dilip Singh Chaturvedi|Chaudhary Dilip Singh Foundation]].<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /> Taking his father's legacy forward, who established the first all-girls school in the division, the foundation runs various educational institutions intending to provide better access to quality education in the [[Chambal division]], with a special effort on education for females up to college level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cyssmbhind.org/others.html|title=Bhind (M.P.)|publisher=Chaudhary Yadunath Singh College|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cdslcbhind.org/newsite/founder.html|title=Bhind (MP)|publisher=Chaudhary Dilip Singh Law College|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

He is married to Manju Chaturvedi of [[Dholpur]], [[Rajasthan]] and the couple has a daughter and two sons.<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" />

== Political career ==
=== Early years ===
Chaturvedi started his political journey in 1979 when he became the President of [[National Students' Union of India]], [[Bhind district|Bhind]].<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /> He also served as the General Secretary of [[Indian Youth Congress]], [[Bhind district]] between 1983 and 1985, and was later elected as the Director of Bhind Marketing Society in 1987.<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" />

He became a [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of the Legislative Assembly]] as an [[Indian National Congress]] representative from [[Bhind (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Bhind]] in the [[1990 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|1990 elections]] to the 9th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]].<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/1990-election-results.html|title=Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election Results in 1990|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> This was the same constituency that his father had won as an [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]] in the [[1980 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|1980 elections]] as a [[Bharatiya Janata Party|Bharatiya Janta Party]] candidate, in the same year when the party was formed, to the 7th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]].<ref name="elec 1980" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/bhind.html|title=Bhind(Madhya Pradesh) Election Result 2018 Updates: Candidate List, Winner & Runner-up MLA List|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/44401-understanding-the-rise-of-the-bharatiya-janata-party/|title=Understanding the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party|last=Misra|first=Satish|publisher=Observer Research Foundation |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>
[[File:RakeshChaudharywithPresident.jpg|alt=|thumb|321x321px|Chaturvedi with President [[Pranab Mukherjee]]]]
He was President of the [[Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee|District Congress Committee]], [[Bhind district|Bhind]] between 1995 and 1996. Chaturvedi was re-elected as a [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of the Legislative Assembly]] following the 1996 by-election to the 10th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]].<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/1993-election-results.html|title=Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election Results in 1993|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> After third term re-election to the 11th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] following [[1998 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|1998 elections]], Chaturvedi took oath as Cabinet Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Environment portfolio in Chief Minister [[Digvijaya Singh]]'s cabinet in the [[Government of Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/1998-election-results.html|title=Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election Results in 1998|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Digvijay-inducts-14-ministers/articleshow/18900751.cms|title=Digvijay inducts 14 ministers |newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

=== Legislative performance ===
As a recognition of his competence and exemplary knowledge of parliamentary rules and regulations – he was conferred with the [[Kunji Lal Dubey|'Pt. Kunji Lal Dubey]] Excellent MLA award' on 8 August 2003.<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /> Chaturvedi was also nominated to the chairperson's panel several times.<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /> He has served as the chairman of several committees in different terms, including the estimates committee, the privilege committee, the public undertakings committee and other select committees.<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" />

Chaturvedi maintained [[Indian National Congress|Congress]]'s stronghold on the [[Bhind (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Bhind]] seat and registered his fourth victory to the 13th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] following the [[2008 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|2008 elections]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://myneta.info/2008mp/candidate.php?candidate_id=49|title=CHAUDHRI RAKESH SINGH CHATURVEDI(Indian National Congress(INC)):Constituency- Bhind (Bhind) – Affidavit Information of Candidate|publisher=myneta.info|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/2008-election-results.html|title=Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election Results in 2008|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> He was appointed as spokesperson of [[Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee]] and [[Indian National Congress]] MLAs in the [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] between 2008 and 2013.<ref name="MPVidhansabha bio" /> Acknowledging his parliamentary potential, [[Jamuna Devi]], the then leader of the opposition, appointed him as the deputy leader of the opposition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mpvidhansabha.nic.in/lop-JamunaDevi.htm|title=MP Legislative Assembly |publisher=Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> After her demise, he served as the leader of the opposition in the [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]].<ref name="MP Legislative" />

=== Floor-crossing and homecoming ===
Chaturvedi switched from [[Indian National Congress]] to [[Bharatiya Janata Party|Bharatiya Janta Party]] in July 2013.<ref name="BBC">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india/2013/07/130711_mp_digvijay_tweet_sk|title=दिग्विजय के ट्वीट से मध्य प्रदेश कांग्रेस को झटका|last=लिए|first=ऋषि पांडे भोपाल से बीबीसी हिंदी डॉटकॉम के|work=BBC Newsहिंदी|language=hi|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/senior-congress-mla-rakesh-singh-chaturvedi-flays-digvijay-singh-joins-bjp/articleshow/21020405.cms?from=mdr|title=Senior Congress MLA Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi flays Digvijay Singh, joins BJP|date=11 July 2013|work=The Economic Times|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.firstpost.com/politics/madhya-pradesh-cong-ends-with-egg-on-face-as-senior-party-leader-turns-turncoat-949589.html|title=Madhya Pradesh: Cong ends with egg on face as senior party leader turns turncoat|work=Firstpost|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/politics/madhya-pradesh-elections-congress-bsp-coalition|title=Why Failure to Form an Alliance With BSP in MP Shouldn't Worry Congress|work=The Wire|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> His younger brother, [[Mukesh Choudhary (politician)|Chaudhary Mukesh Singh Chaturvedi]] won the [[2013 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|2013 elections]] from [[Mehgaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Mehgaon]] constituency to the 14th [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] as a [[Bharatiya Janata Party|Bharatiya Janta Party]] candidate.<ref name="dads legacy" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/madhya-pradesh/assembly-constituencies/2013-election-results.html|title=Madhya Pradesh (MP) Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Election 2013 – results, polling stats, winners and more.|publisher=India Elections Commission |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

On 20 April 2019, Chaturvedi returned to [[Indian National Congress]] in presence of the then party general secretary [[Jyotiraditya Scindia]] at his election nomination rally in Shivpuri.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uniindia.com/ex-minister-back-in-cong/north/news/1570740.html|title=Ex-minister back in Cong|access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mpbreakingnews.in/Headlines/former-minister-Chaudhary-Rakesh-Singh%27s-join-congress-in-rally-of-scindia-in-shivpuri-46533|title=बीजेपी को झटका, सिंधिया की सभा में पूर्व मंत्री चौधरी राकेश सिंह की 'घर वापसी'|website=mpbreakingnews.in|access-date=22 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jyotiraditya Scindia takes potshots at PM Modi |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/scindia-takes-potshots-at-modi/articleshow/68972314.cms|date=April 21, 2019|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref>

Chaudhary was made the Star Campaigner for [[2021 Damoh Legislative Assembly by-elections|2021 Damoh Legislative Assembly By-Election]] by the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=दमोह उपचुनाव: कांग्रेस कराएगी राम नाम का जाप, साध्वी राम सिया भारती को पार्टी ने किया आगे|url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/madhya-pradesh/bhopal-congress-chants-ram-nam-ka-jap-in-damoh-by-election-party-forwarded-kathavachak-sadhvi-ram-siya-bharti-nodssp-3546602.html|access-date=2021-05-01|website=News18 India}}</ref>

On July 26, 2021, Chaudhary was made the [[Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee]] in-charge of [[Morena]]. 

== See also ==
* [[Chaudhary Dilip Singh Chaturvedi]], father
*[[Mukesh Choudhary (politician)|Chaudhary Mukesh Singh Chaturvedi]], brother
*[[Bhind (Vidhan Sabha constituency)]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaturvedi, Chaudhary Rakesh Singh}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1990–1992]]
[[Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1998–2003]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:State cabinet ministers of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Bhind district]]
[[Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1993–1998]]
[[Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 2008–2013]]
[[Category:Barkatullah University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians]]