Chandra Shekhar
9th Prime Minister of India
In office November 10, 1990 – June 21, 1991
Preceded by	Vishwanath Pratap Singh
Succeeded by	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Born	July 1 1927(1927-07-01) Ibrahimpatti, United Provinces, British India
Died	July 8 2007 (aged 80) New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
Political party	Janata Dal / Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)
Religion	Hindu

Chandra Shekhar Singh (Hindi: चन�द�रशेखर सिंह) (July 1, 1927 - July 8, 2007) was the ninth Prime Minister of the Republic of India.

Biography

Early years

He was born in 1927 to a farming family in Ibrahimpatti - Ballia in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Chandra Shekar 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. The Hindu, "Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar dies" July 8, 2007

Political life

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 as he claimed which gave the jitters to Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister.He was called a \'Young Turk".

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

Holding the office of Prime Minister for only seven months, Shekhar resigned on March 6, 1991 after the Congress Party withdrew support to him. 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 election to the Lok Sabha 8 times from Ballia 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 May 3, 2007, he was hospitalised in critical condition after his condition had deteriorated. The Tribune, "Chandra Shekhar critically ill" May 3, 2007

Shekhar died at the age of 80 in New Delhi on July 8, 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.http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=531862

References

External links

• Official Website from the Parliament of India

See also

• List of Rajputs

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia