Chandrashekhar Singh (17 August 1927 – 9 July 1986) was a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and served as the 16th

Chief Minister of Bihar The chief minister of Bihar serves as the head of the Government of Bihar, overseeing its administration and governance within the constitutional framework of India. While the Governor of Bihar holds the ceremonial role of the constitutional h ...

from August 1983 to March 1985. He also held a number of Union State Minister positions in the Ministry of Prime Ministers

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

and

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

. He was elected to Bihar Vidhan Sabha four times, and also to the Parliament a few times. He also the first minister for

Ministry of Textiles The Ministry of Textiles is an Indian government national agency responsible for the formulation of policy, planning, development, export promotion and regulation of the textile industry in India. This includes all natural, artificial, and ce ...

. He last held the position of Union Minister of Petroleum, during which he died due to cancer. He was elected to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha in 1952, 1957 and 1969 from Jhajha (Vidhan Sabha constituency). He lost from Jhajha (झाझा) in 1962. He was elected to Vidhan Sabha from Chakai (चकाई) in 1972. He was also related to

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

stalwart

Satyendra Narayan Sinha Satyendra Narayan Sinha (12 July 1917 – 4 September 2006) was an Indian politician and statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, a leading light of Jaya Prakash Narayan's ‘ ''complete revolution''’ movement during the E ...

. In 1980, he won the parliamentary elections with an overwhelming majority from

Banka (Lok Sabha constituency) Banka Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar state in eastern India. This comprises the Banka district. Vidhan Sabha segments Presently, Banka Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following six Vidhan Sabha ( ...

. In 1983, he was handpicked by

to become the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. After the 1985 elections, he was asked by Prime Minister

to return to

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

as Union Minister of Petroleum. He won a by-poll for Banka Lok Sabha seat in 1985. After his death in 1986, his widow Manorama Singh won the by-poll necessitated by his death. He was elected to the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

a total of 5 times. A museum has also been opened in Jamui in Bihar in his name. It was established in 1983 by the state government to preserve the antiquities of the surrounding areas.

Political career

He was a grassroots congressman, being connected to all workers at village level. He also served the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

party at all levels from village to state level. He got elected to state assembly for first time in year 1952 when he was just 25 years. He got reelected again in the year 1957. After taking break for few years he contested elections and re-entered assembly in year 1969 and remained member till 1977. Though he contested Lok Sabha elections in 1977 as congressman, due to Janata waive he couldn't make it. However he got elected in 1980 defeating Madhu Limaye from Banka seat. He also acted in administrative capacity and became parliament secretary. He was later inducted into cabinet for various ministries such as Revenue, Industry, Minor Irrigation, Law and Public works. In 1983 Cabinet reshuffle he was made Minister of State for Energy.

Freedom movement

Chandrashekhar Singh was a part of the famous Young Turks of Bihar Congress during the independence movement along with

Bindeshwari Dubey Bindeshwari Dubey (14 January 1921 – 20 January 1993) was a freedom fighter, trade unionist and politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar between 12 March 1985 and 13 February 1988. Dubey was involved in the nationalisation of Indian ...

Bhagwat Jha Azad Bhagwat Jha Azad was an Indian freedom fighter and politician. He served as Chief Minister of Bihar from 14 February 1988 to 10 March 1989. He was at various times a member of parliament and a member of the Bihar state legislature. Political c ...

, Abdul Gafoor,

Kedar Pandey Kedar Pandey (14 June 1920 – 3 July 1982) was an Indian freedom fighter and Indian National Congress politician, who remained the Chief Minister of Bihar from March 1972 to 2 July 1973 and Minister of Railways in the Union Cabinet from 12 Nov ...

all future chief ministers and

Sitaram Kesri Sitaram Kesri (15 November 1919 – 24 October 2000) was an Indian politician and parliamentarian. He became a union minister and served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1996 to 1998. __TOC__ Political career Pre-Independenc ...

, future national president of Indian National Congress.

Personal background

He held a postgraduate degree in economics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Chandrashekhar Chief ministers of Bihar Indian independence activists from Bihar Indian government officials People from Jamui district 1927 births 1986 deaths India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1977–1979 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 Lok Sabha members from Bihar Bihar MLAs 1980–1985 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress India MPs 1989–1991