Sompal Shastri or Sompal Singh Shastri ( hi, सोमपालसिंह शास्त्री) born on 20 January 1942 in a Farmer-Jat family and began his career as a politician of

Rashtriya Lok Dal Rashtriya Lok Dal (abbreviated as RLD) (translation: National People's Party) is a political party in India founded by Chaudhary Ajit Singh. He was carrying on the political legacy of his father and former Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Ch ...

from

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He has been

Minister for Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

for the national government and a member of the Planning Commission. He is Vice Chairman, State Planning Board,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. Sompal won in 1998 defeating

's chief

Chaudhary Ajit Singh Chaudhary Ajit Singh (12 February 1939 – 6 May 2021) was an Indian politician. He was a big JAT community leader. He was the founder and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, a political party recognized in western part of state of Uttar Pradesh, an ...

from Baghpat. But lost to

in 1999 by a margin of over 1.54 lakh votes. Sompal's father was Raghubir Singh Shastri, and represented Baghpat in the fourth Lok Sabha. He graduated from

Boys High School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

now

Prayagraj Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

, 1957; B.A. Hons. (Economics),

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

, 1961; M.A. (Economics),

, 1964; LL.B., Delhi University, 1967. In September 2013, Sompal Shastri refused to contest

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

polls under the

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as w ...

banner. In a letter written to party president

Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialist figure and the founder of the Samajwadi Party. In the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three terms as ...

, Mr. Shastri said he was not in a position to contest the

polls from

Baghpat Baghpat is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bagpat district, which was established in 1997. It is part of the National Capital Region. Etymology The original name of the city was ''Vyaghrap ...

after the violence in which over 38 people were killed. The incidents of communal violence in

Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar is a city under Muzaffarnagar District in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway (NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It is kno ...

Shamli Shamli is a city and the headquarters of Shamli district, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a part of Delhi NCR and is an administrative subdivision under Saharanpur division. History According to the mythological story, in Dawpar yug ...

and

were unfortunate, he said.

References

External links

India Today Cover story Winners of 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shastri, Sompal People from Bagpat district People from Haridwar 1942 births Living people India MPs 1998–1999 Agriculture Ministers of India Delhi University alumni Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party politicians Janata Dal politicians Rashtriya Janata Dal politicians