Former sub-inspector and Agra MP SP Singh Baghel gets ministerial berth

AGRA: A sub-inspector in UP police, a professor of military science and a five-time member of parliament, Satya Pal Singh Baghel has donned many hats in his career, but the 61-year-old’s “biggest achievement” came on Wednesday as he was inducted into the Union council of ministers.

“I’m thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing me the opportunity to serve the people of the country in a better way. This is the happiest moment of my life and my biggest achievement yet. I will not leave any stone unturned in doing justice to the portfolio assigned to me,” the BJP MP from Agra told TOI. He has been given minister of state (law and justice).

<p>Baghel, who hails from Auraiya district, is known for his oratory as much as he is known for his party hopping. He was a member of the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999 and 2004 as a Samajwadi Party MP and represented the Jalesar seat. In 2009, Baghel joined Bahujan Samaj Party and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BSP nominee.</p>

Baghel, who hails from Auraiya district, is known for his oratory as much as he is known for his party hopping. He was a member of the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999 and 2004 as a Samajwadi Party MP and represented the Jalesar seat. In 2009, Baghel joined Bahujan Samaj Party and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BSP nominee.

But in 2014, Baghel resigned as BSP Rajya Sabha MP after contesting and losing Lok Sabha elections from Firozabad. Soon after, he aligned himself with the BJP. In 2015, he was appointed the president of BJP OBC Morcha. In 2017, he won the assembly elections from Tundla seat and served as a minister (animal husbandry) in Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet.

In 2019, he was fielded by the BJP from the Agra Lok Sabha seat (SC) — replacing the incumbent Ram Shankar Katheria, the then chief of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Baghel managed to notch a major victory, defeating the BSP candidate Manoj Kumar Soni by over two lakh votes.

Back in the 90s, however, the local intelligence unit (LIU) sleuth had few political aspirations. He had joined UP Police as sub-inspector soon after completing his MSc. It was only when he was serving as a security officer to former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav that his political ambitions started taking shape. He took voluntary retirement from police in 1993 and was appointed the state president of Samajwadi Party’s youth brigade. A PhD in military science, Baghel is also a professor at Agra College.

Baghel’s political career, however, hasn’t remained free of controversy. A case is pending in court against him after it was alleged that he had contested elections on a forged caste certificate.