Vijayendra Singh, a former Minister of State for Health and a scion of the erstwhile Nalagarh princely state, died in New Delhi on Wednesday at the age of 80 after prolonged illness. His body was being brought to Nalagarh and the cremation would take place at Khera village on Thursday, according to family sources. He had graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University, in 1966 and was a five-term MLA from Nalagarh. He began his political journey with the Janta Party in 1977 and later joined the Congress in 1982. Vijayendra was elected to the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in 1977, 1982, 1985, 1990 and 1993 and remained a Chief Parliamentary Secretary from May 1982 to April 1983.
He had served the as the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in 1983-84 and 1988-89. He had lost his last election in 1998 to BJP’s Hari Narayan Saini. Known as ‘Raja of Nalagarh’, he is survived by his wife Sukriti Kumar, a son and a daughter.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his grief over Singh’s demise and said he contributed immensely for the development of the state, particularly the Nalagarh Assembly constituency.
He added that his contributions towards the welfare of society would be remembered by people for long.
He prayed for peace to the departed soul and wished strength to the bereaved family members.
