Kunwar Anand Singh, former member of parliament from Gonda and father of Union minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, passed away Sunday night at the age of 87.According to family sources as reported by PTI, his health suddenly deteriorated at his home in Lucknow, and he was rushed to a hospital where he took his last breath.Singh is survived by his wife Veena Singh, three daughters, Niharika Singh, Radhika Singh, and Shivani Rai, and son Kirti Vardhan Singh, who currently serves as MoS for external affairs, forest and environment.Known as the ‘UP Tiger’, Anand Singh held significant influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh, especially in Gonda district. His political clout was so strong that he was often handed blank nomination forms by party leaders, trusted to select winning candidates. A nod from the Mankapur royal family was widely believed to secure local leadership positions such as MLA, zila panchayat chairperson, or block pramukh.Born on January 4, 1939, Anand Singh belonged to the erstwhile royal family of Mankapur. He was the son of Raja Raghvendra Pratap Singh, a former MLA from the Swatantra Party. After studying at Colvin Taluqedar College in Lucknow, Singh earned a degree in agriculture from the Agriculture Institute in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) and went on to manage his family’s estate.He entered politics after his father’s death and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1964, 1967, and 1969. Later, on the advice of then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, he joined the Congress and won the Gonda Lok Sabha seat in 1971, 1980, 1984, and 1989.Singh lost the Gonda seat in the 1991 general elections during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and again in 1996, after which he stepped back from national politics. However, he returned in 2012 and won the Gaura Assembly seat, serving as the agriculture minister in the Samajwadi Party government. He later retired from active politics, reported PTI.Political leaders across party lines expressed grief over his passing. In a post on X, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said, “The passing of Hon Union Minister of State Shri Kirtivardhan Singh Ji’s revered father and former Uttar Pradesh government minister and former MP Shri Anand Singh Ji is extremely sorrowful. Humble tributes!”Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also paid tribute, calling the passing away of the former MP “extremely sad.”