Ex-Maharashtra minister & Mumbai Congress leader is BJP’s Jaunpur LS face

Singh, who hails from Sahodarpur in Jaunpur, has had an eventful political journey — he came to Mumbai looking for a job and sold vegetables, but went on to become the “go to” man for the Congress leadership for party matters in Mumbai. He subsequently found himself embroiled in a disproportionate assets case. Later, Singh joined the BJP.

Singh came to Mumbai in 1971, looking for a job after failing to clear Class XII. He initially made do with occasional work and lived in Rambharose Chawl in suburban Khar along with his brother, Shivshankar Singh, who was then with the state excise department.

People who know Kripashankar since those days say he worked in a dairy firm besides selling vegetables. He reportedly likes to “flaunt” his humble beginnings; particularly the way he used to sell vegetables.

Kripashankar’s first permanent job was as a packer with a pharmaceutical firm. Simultaneously, he joined the Congress Seva Dal. He made steady progress to become a general secretary in Mumbai Congress.

His first break came in 1988, when Pratibha Patil, later President of India and then heading the state Congress, elevated him as a party secretary.

In the 1990s, he had become a trusted aide of late Congress president Sitaram Kesari.

First nominated to the Legislative Council in 1994, he became Minister of State (Home) in Vilasrao Deshmukh’s government in 1999 after being elected from Santacruz. With Sonia Gandhi taking over the reins of the party, he is said to have become close to Ahmed Patel and Motilal Vora, and was effectively the leadership’s “go to” man in Mumbai. Kripashankar headed the Mumbai Congress between 2007 and 2011, and was also a three-time MLA, being elected in 1999, 2004 and 2019.

A PIL was filed in 2011 alleging that the Congress leader and his family members had amassed huge assets. The PIL claimed Singh had collected assets worth Rs 320 crore. A case was registered against Singh and his kin pursuant to an order of the Bombay High Court leading to his gradual sidelining in the Congress.

He subsequently distanced himself from the Congress and was discharged in the case by a special court in Mumbai. He resigned from the Congress in the run-up to the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra and formally joined the BJP in July 2021.

Singh had since been nurturing political ambitions in Uttar Pradesh and has managed to bag a BJP ticket from Jaunpur.