Jammu, MAY 26
After joining the BJP just three years ago, 57-year-old Dr Jitendra Singh, a diabetologist who today took oath as the Minister of State (independent charge), is the only MP from Jammu and Kashmir to be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers. Of the six Lok Sabha seats, the BJP had won three.

On January 3, 2011, the BJP had, for the first time, formally invited Dr Jitendra as special invitee to its national executive and requested him to join the party. The process of nominating him to the BJP had started during the 2008 Amarnath land agitation in which he played a vital role in presenting the viewpoint of the “nationalist forces” of the state. Dr Jitendra had defeated former J&K Chief Minister and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad from Kathua-Udhampur-Doda parliamentary segment by 60,976 votes in the recently concluded LS polls.

Dr Jitendra did his schooling from Model Academy, Jammu and Scindia School, Gwalior. Thereafter, he did his MBBS from Stanley Medical College, Madras (Chennai), and MD (Medicine) from Government Medical College, Jammu. He did his specialisation in Diabetes from the AIIMS, New Delhi.

He lives with his wife Manju Singh and two sons, Aprajit and Arunoday, in Trikuta Nagar area of Jammu city. Singh has been the BJP chief spokesperson for J&K and member of party national executive. He also holds great acumen in journalism and has authored nearly 3,000 Kashmir-related articles that were published in national and regional newspapers. He has received “Jamna Devi Gian Devi Award” in journalism.