Chandra Shekhar

Chandra Shekhar चन्द्रशेखर
Prime Minister of India
In office 10 November 1990 – 21 June 1991
President	Ramaswamy Venkataraman
Deputy	Chaudhary Devi Lal
Preceded by	Vishwanath Pratap Singh
Succeeded by	Narasimha Rao
Minister of Defence
In office 10 November 1990 – 21 June 1991
Preceded by	Vishwanath Pratap Singh
Succeeded by	Sharad Pawar
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 10 November 1990 – 21 June 1991
Preceded by	Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Succeeded by	Shankarrao Chavan
Personal details
Born	1 July 1927(1927-07-01) Ibrahimpatti, British Raj
Died	8 July 2007(2007-07-08) (aged 80) New Delhi, India
Political party	Samajwadi Janata Party (1990–2007)
Other political affiliations	Congress Socialist Party (Before 1964) Indian National Congress (1964–1975) Independent (1975–1977) Janata Party (1977–1988) Janata Dal (1988–1990)
Alma mater	Allahabad University
Religion	Hinduism

Chandra Shekhar Singh (Hindi: चन्द्रशेखर ) (1 July 1927 - 8 July 2007) was the eighth Prime Minister of India.

Biography

Early years

He was born on 1 July 1927 to a Rajput farming family in Ibrahimpatti - Ballia in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Chandra Shekhar Singh did his Master of Arts (MA) at Allahabad University. He was known as a firebrand in student politics. After graduation, he became active in socialist politics.^[1] Honored with “Proud Past Alumni" in the list of 42 members, from "Allahabad University Alumni Association", NCR, Ghaziabad (Greater Noida) Chapter 2007-2008 registered under society act 1860 with registration no. 407/2000^[2].

Political life

He joined the socialist movement and was elected secretary of the district Praja Socialist Party (PSP), Ballia. Within a year, he was elected joint secretary of the PSP’s State unit in Uttar Pradesh. In 1955-56, he took over as general secretary of the party in the State. His career as a parliamentarian began with his election to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in 1962.He came under the spell of Acharya Narendra Dev, a fiery Socialist leader in the beginning of his political career. From 1962 to 1967, Shekhar belonged to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper house of the Parliament of India. He had a nationwide padayatra in 1984 to know the country better, which he claimed gave the jitters to Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister. He was called a "Young Turk".

Chandra Shekhar was a prominent leader of socialists. He joined Congress in 1964. From 1962 to 1967, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha. He first entered the Lok Sabha in 1967. As a member of the Congress Party, he vehemently criticized Indira Gandhi for her activities. This led to a split in the Congress in 1975. Chandrashekhar was arrested during the emergency and sent to prison.

After the emergency, he became the President of Janata Party. In the parliamentary elections, Janata Party did very well and formed the coalition government headed by late Morarji Desai. In 1988, his party merged with other parties and formed the government under the leadership of V.P. Singh. Again his relationship with the coalition deteriorated and he formed another party, Janata Dal socialist faction. With the support of Congress (I) headed by Rajiv Gandhi, he replaced V.P. Singh as the Prime Minister of India in November 1990.

After his predecessor V.P. Singh resigned, he led a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal, known as the Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) . The Indian National Congress decided to extend outside support to his government to avoid snap elections, and Shekhar held a bare majority in a coalition with both the Communist parties and the BJP. The relationship crumbled quickly, as the Congress party accused him of spying on Rajiv Gandhi, their leader at that time. The Congress Party then boycotted Parliament and as Shekhar's faction only had about 60 MPs, he resigned in a nationally televised address on 6 March 1991. He remained in office until national elections could be held later that year.

Shekhar was known for abiding by the parliamentary conventions and was honoured with the inaugural Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1995.

Chandra Shekhar was a member of the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament. He led Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya), (Socialist People's Party (National)). Starting in 1977, he won elections to the Lok Sabha eight times from Ballia constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The only election that he lost was in 1984 against Mr. Jagganath Chaudhary of Congress(I).

Shekhar suffered from multiple myeloma, a form of cancer of the plasma cell. On 3 May 2007, he was hospitalised in critical condition after his condition had deteriorated.^[3] Shekhar died at the age of 80 in New Delhi on 8 July 2007. He was survived by two sons. One of them, Neeraj Shekhar contested and won the Ballia Lok Sabha which was vacated through his father's death.^[4]

References

1. ^ The Hindu, "Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar dies" 8 July 2007
2. ^ "He is Proud Past Alumni Allahabad University". Allahabad university Alumni Association web page say
3. ^ The Tribune, "Chandra Shekhar critically ill" May 3, 2007
4. ^ outlookindia.com | wired

More Details on Chandra Shekhar's Website

External links

• Official Website from the Parliament of India

Political offices
Preceded by Vishwanath Pratap Singh	Prime Minister of India 1990–1991	Succeeded by Narasimha Rao
	Chairperson of the Planning Commission 1990–1991
	Minister of Defence 1990–1991	Succeeded by Sharad Pawar
Preceded by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed	Minister of Home Affairs 1990–1991	Succeeded by Shankarrao Chavan

Persondata
Name	Shekhar, Chandra
Alternative names
Short description	Indian politician
Date of birth	1 July 1927
Place of birth	Ibrahimpatti
Date of death	8 July 2007
Place of death	New Delhi