Kailashpati Mishra (5 October 1923 – 3 November 2012) was an Indian politician. He was a leader of

Jana Sangh The Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh) was a Hindutva political party active in India. It was established on 21 October 1951 in Delhi by three founding members: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Balraj Madhok and Deendayal ...

, and later Bharatiya Janta Party. He was the

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

from 1977 to 1979. He was

Governor of Gujarat The governor of Gujarat is the nominal head of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor is appointed by the president of India and resides in Raj Bhavan, Gandhinagar, Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Acharya Devvrat took charge as the 24th governo ...

from May 2003 to July 2004.

Early life

Kailashpati Mishra was born in Dudharchak, Buxar, Bihar, into a

Bhumihar Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, a Hindu Indian caste system, caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila (region), Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya ...

family on 5 October 1923. He took part in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and was arrested for the same. He was a member of the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

from 1943, and was even jailed after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. While studying in class X, Mr. Mishra was arrested for picketing at the main gate of his school at Buxar in support of 1942 Quit India Movement.

Political career

Kailash Pati Mishra contested 1971 Lok Sabha election on Jana Sangh's ticket from

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

but lost. He won the Bihar Vidhan Sabha election for Bikram seat in 1977, and was appointed finance minister in the Janata Party government of Karpoori Thakur. In 1980, he became the first BJP Bihar president when the party was founded. He also served as BJP national Vice President from 1995 to 2003. He was appointed governor of Gujarat in 2003, and for a short duration he was caretaker Governor of Rajasthan following the death of the incumbent Governor Nirmal Chandra Jain. After the BJP's government's defeat in 2004 polls, Mishra was removed from his post as governor by the Congress Government. Known as the Bhishma Pitamaha of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

in Bihar, Mishra was away from direct political activities for the last two years of his life due to old age, but remained a source of inspiration for the party. He was also liked by the socialists due to his participation in JP's 1974 anti-Congress agitations. Born in 1923 in Bihar's Buxar, Mishra was a lifelong bachelor. On his death in 2012 at the age of 89, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy and senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi visited his residence to pay condolence. Indian government issued a postal stamp in his honour in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Kailashpati 1923 births 2012 deaths Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Bihar Indian independence activists from Bihar Indian autobiographers Indian Hindus Indian memoirists Governors of Gujarat Governors of Rajasthan Bihar MLAs 1977–1980 Rajya Sabha members from Bihar People from Buxar district Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Janata Party politicians