Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (23 October 1923 – 15 May 2010) was an Indian politician who served as the  vice president of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on 21 July 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha Patil. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan three times, from 1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992 and 1993 to 1998. He represented several constituencies in Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha from 1952 to 2002. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in the year 2003.

Early life

He was born in 1923 to a Rajput family in the village of Khachriyawas, then in Sikar district, Rajputana Agency, British India. His father Devi Singh was a farmer of the village and his mother, Bane Kanwar was a housewife. He was very good in studies and completed high school but was unable to complete college due to his father's death. He had to support his family. He worked as a farmer and an officer sub-inspector of police. After working in Police Department for few years he saw his interest in the politics and joined Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1950. In the year 1952, he resigned from the position of Police Inspector to contest Elections in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.

Legacy

Referred to as "Rajasthan Ka Ek Hi Singh" (The only lion of Rajasthan) or "Babosa" (Head of the family of Rajasthan) and affectionately as Bhairon Baba, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat entered politics in 1952. In 1952 he was MLA from Ramgarh, in 1957 from Sri Madhopur, 1962 and 1967 he was MLA from Kisan Pol. In 1972 elections he lost but in 1973 he was elected to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. He remains the only Non-Congress politician to be the Chief minister of Rajasthan 3 times

Political career

Janata Party

After emergency in 1977 he became MLA from Chhabra as Janata Party candidate. However, in 1989 an alliance between the BJP and the Janata Dal won all 25 of the Rajasthan seats in the Lok Sabha and also 138 seats (BJP:84+Janata Dal:54)

In the 1999 general elections, he had recommended the BJP to give Prem Singh Rathore from Hyderabad, a close friend a ticket from Maharajganj (now goshamahal) and helped him win his elections and established strong BJP presence in North Andhra Region. Shekhawat also helped Rathore in his daughters marriage by fixing the marriage with a relative.

Vice President of India (2002–2007)

Shekhawat was elected as the Vice-President of India in 2002, when he defeated the opposition candidate, Sushil Kumar Shinde by a margin of 149 votes out of the 750 votes polled.

In July 2007, Shekhawat fought the presidential election as an independent candidate backed by National Democratic Alliance as a popular presidential candidate next to A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; but lost to the United Progressive Alliance-Left backed candidate Pratibha Patil. He became the first vice-president to lose presidential election. Following this defeat, Shekhawat resigned from the post of vice-president on 21 July 2007.

Notable Policies

Against Sati Pratha

Shekhawat played the most crucial role in removing Sati (practice) from Rajasthan as a part of their culture, especially among Rajput community, to which he belonged. At the time of 1987 when an 18 years old girl 'Roop Kanwar' was burnt as sati, then the matter came in controversy. Then at that time without thinking about his votebank, he put a total ban on this practice.

Antyoday Yojna

Shekhawat started the "Antyoday Yojna" scheme, which was intended to uplift the poorest of the poor. The chairman of the World Bank, Robert McNamara, referred to him as the Rockefeller of India.

Administration

Shekhawat was also known for his control over bureaucracy and the police. He had involvement in policies designed to improve literacy and industrialisation in Rajasthan, as well as tourism centred on the themes of heritage, wildlife and villages.

Death

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat succumbed to cancer and other related health problems, and died on 15 May 2010 at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur.

His wife, Suraj Kanwar (1927–2013), died on 9 March 2013 at the age of 86, after outliving her husband by two to three years and was cremated at Shekhawat's memorial as per her last wish.

Awards and honours

:
50px Padma Vibhushan (2003)

Electoral history

thumb|Vice President Shekhawat along with former Governor of Odisha [[Rameshwar Thakur.]]

thumb|Vice President Shekhawat inspecting guard of honor at [[Biju Patnaik International Airport.]]

Shekhawat was a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on the following occasions:

1952 - 1957, Jana Sangh MLA from Danta-ramgarh.
1957 - 1962, Jana Sangh MLA from Sri Madhopur.
1962 - 1967, MLA from Kishanpole.
1967 - 1972, MLA from Kishanpole.
1972 : Lost from Gandhinagar as Jana Sangh candidate.
1974 - 1977, Rajyasabha MP from Madhya Pradesh.
1977 - 1980, Janata Party MLA from Chhabra, via a bypoll.
1980 - 1985, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Chhabra.
1985 - 1990, BJP MLA from Nimbahera. (Also won from Amber, but resigned from that seat)
1990 - 1992, BJP MLA from Dholpur. (Also won from Chhabra, but resigned from that seat)
1993 - 1998, BJP MLA from Bali. (Also contested from Ganganagar but lost that seat, finishing third)
1998 - 2002, BJP MLA from Bali.

Offices held

He held the following offices:

22 June 1977 – 16 February 1980: Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
1980 – 90 Leader of the Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
4 March 1990 – 15 December 1992: Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
4 December 1993 – 29 November 1998: Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
December 1998 – August 2002: Leader of the Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
19 August 2002 – 21 July 2007: Vice-President of India.

References

External links

Rediff/28 August 2006: Bhairon Singh Shekhawat: The next President?
Shekhawat sworn in as Vice-President
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Profile on the Official Indian Government Site
Shekhawat on British payroll in 1942