Here is a polished English translation:
Today, as the Foundation Day of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is being observed, very few people are aware that Etah district played an important role in the early history and formation of the political movement from which the BJP eventually emerged.
It is a little-known chapter of history that the strategy for establishing the Bharatiya Jana Sangh as a political organisation was developed under the leadership of Rao Krishna Pal Singh, the second son of Raja Balwant Singh of Awagarh, an erstwhile princely estate in Etah district.
According to accounts associated with this history, important discussions and planning concerning the formation of the Jana Sangh took place at Awagarh House, “Castle Grant” Kothi, Agra.
Initially, Prabhudutt Brahmachari Ji Maharaj was considered for the position of President of the Jana Sangh. However, when he declined to accept the responsibility, the name of Rao Krishna Pal Singh was proposed.
On 2 September 1951, the Uttar Pradesh Jana Sangh was established. At that stage, the organisation was confined to Uttar Pradesh, and Rao Krishna Pal Singh of Awagarh became its first President. For this reason, he is more appropriately described as the first President of the Uttar Pradesh Jana Sangh rather than the first National President of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Subsequently, the organisation expanded at the national level, and Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee became the first National President of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Rao Krishna Pal Singh thus remained an important early leader and founding member associated with the formative phase of the organisation.
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh later became one of the principal political streams that eventually led to the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.
Political Career of Rao Krishna Pal Singh
Rao Krishna Pal Singh had a long and distinguished political career. He represented the Jalesar parliamentary constituency as a member of the Third Lok Sabha, having contested as a candidate of the Swatantra Party.
Before Independence, he also served for approximately 12 years as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) during the British period.
Among the other important positions held by him, he served as Chairman of the Etah District Board/Zila Parishad and was also associated with the Hindu Mahasabha, including holding important responsibilities at the national level. Throughout his public life, he occupied several significant political and organisational positions.
In his later years, Rao Krishna Pal Singh lived at Awagarh House, “Brij Jivan Niwas,” Dampier Park, Mathura.
He passed away on 24 January 1975, leaving behind an important political legacy and a significant, though relatively little-known, association with the formative history of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
I have slightly refined the wording around the transition from Jana Sangh to BJP: historically, it is more accurate to say that the Jana Sangh was a major predecessor of the BJP rather than that “Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party became the BJP.”
