Daya Shankar Singh, the Transport Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has concluded his 22-year-long marriage to Swati Singh, who is also a former Minister.
The family court has granted permission for a divorce by mutual agreement.
Swati Singh, who served as a state minister under the Yogi Adityanath government from 2017 to 2022, had filed a request for divorce from her husband Daya Shankar Singh, a BJP MLA who won the Ballia Sadar Assembly seat in March 2022.
Last year, she filed a recall application to reinstate her previous plea, which was dismissed by the court because neither party appeared. The court had reserved order on her application.
She had informed the court that she previously filed for divorce in 2012 and that her husband had been notified to submit a response.
Swati Singh was elected as MLA in 2017
During that time, she ran for the Assembly election in 2017 and won the seat in Sarojini Nagar, becoming an MLA.
Later on, she was appointed as a minister, but due to her inability to attend court proceedings, her divorce petition was dismissed in 2018, according to Swati Singh's appeal.
Following the hearing of the appeal, the court had reserved its order.
In 2017, Swati won the election in the Sarojini Nagar seat in Lucknow. However, in 2022, her party refused to give her a ticket and instead nominated her husband to run in Ballia.
Swati Singh gained attention in July 2016 when her husband, Daya Shankar Singh, was expelled from the party for making disparaging remarks about BSP leader Mayawati.
How Swati Singh gained prominence in UP politics?
In 2016, BJP leader Dayashankar Singh made controversial remarks about BSP supremo Mayawati. Accusing her of selling tickets, Dayashankar allegedly used abusive language against her. After this, criticism of his statement began to emerge from all sides, and demands for action against Dayashankar Singh were made by the BSP. Many BJP leaders also deemed his statement as wrong.
At that time, Nasimuddin Siddiqui was the national secretary of the BSP. He arrived at the Hazratganj intersection in Lucknow with some of his supporters to protest. During the protest, he used foul language for Dayashankar’s mother, wife, and daughter while repeating Dayashankar’s mistake. This is where Swati's political entry began.
Swati Singh became furious over Nasimuddin's statement. Dayashankar had already stepped back due to his statement. But in response to Nasimuddin's comment, Swati Singh challenged BSP supremo Mayawati to contest election against her.
Dayashankar and Nasimuddin faced different actions due to this move. While the BJP suspended Dayashankar for six years, Nasimuddin had to go to jail due to an FIR filed against him for insulting Dayashankar's mother. In place of Dayashankar, the BJP played the women's card by fielding Swati Singh and her journey in electoral politics began.
