New Delhi: Ajit Singh (82), former Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief passed away this morning, according to a tweet from his son Jayant Chaudhary.  “He battled his condition till the very end and breathed his last today morning,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those who paid tribute to the politician, known to be a prominent voice of farmers. “He was always dedicated to the cause of farmers. He ably fulfilled many responsibilities at the centre,” PM Modi wrote.

An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Ajit Singh, was a seven-time MP and Union Minister in the Governments of V.P. Singh, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. He enjoyed an immense following in politically vital Uttar Pradesh, especially its western parts dominated by Jats.

Son of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, Ajit Singh quit the computer industry to return to India and join politics when his father fell ill. He became a Rajya Sabha member in 1986. When his father died the next year, he was asked to take over as chief of the Lok Dal, but amid internal tussles, the party split and Ajit Singh formed his own party.