But Singh bounced back to silence his critics in the party and did not allow Punjab to be repeated in Himachal. Born on June 23, 1934, Singh succeeded to the position of king of the state at the age of 13 in 1947. After joining Congress in 1961, Singh entered Lok Sabha for the first time in 1962 from Mahasu constituency when Himachal Pradesh was part of Punjab and was the youngest member of this 3rd Lok Sabha.