[1] Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was born in a princely Chauhan Rajput family to Raja Aditya Pratap Singh, the ruler of the small princely state of Seraikela and Rani Padmini Kumari Devi.

In 1932, aged 20, he married Kailash Kumari Devi, the daughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.

[4][5] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in the 1946 New Year Honours list.

In 1951, Deo was elected to the 1st Lok Sabha from Kalahandi Bolangir constituency in Odisha as a Ganatantra Parishad candidate.

He led a coalition government formed by the Swatantra Party and the Orissa Jana Congress of Harekrushna Mahatab.