Imphal. RK Ranjan who was sworn in as Union Minister of State incharge of External Affairs and Education on Wednesday, is a member of an erstwhile royal clan in Manipur and has worked for unity among various tribes in his State. The new Minister is the fourth from Manipur to be inducted in the Union Council of Ministers. The first was RK Jaichandra Singh, the second was Prof. Meijinlung Kamson, the third was Former State unit President of the BJP Th Chaoba from Manipur be inducted in the Union Council of Ministers.
R.K. Ranjan was born on Sept.1, 1952 in the village of Kongba Makha Nandeibam Leikai in Manipur’s Imphal East district. The former academic and now politician is seen as a unifier. Son of the late R.K. Manisana Singh, he is married to Debala Dev.
After graduating from DM college, Imphal he did his, Master’s in Geography in 1972 from Guwahati University and later a PhD on problems on land use in Manipur. R.K. Ranjan hails from the Royal clan which is still highly regarded in the state. After teaching in colleges in Manipur, he joined Manipur University as an Assistant Professor in the department of Earth Sciences. He was appointed Registrar at MU and served from 2004 to 2008. In 2013 he joined the BJP and contested the Lok Sabha election in the next very year. However, his debut was marked by defeat.
In 17th Lok Sabha election held in 2019, he was elected as Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency on the BJP ticket. He has been appointed member of several Parliamentary Committees for DoNER and Parliamentary Rules Committee.
