Shimla: Six-time Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who crafted a distinguished political career spanning fifty years before getting embroiled in financial irregularity charges in his final term, died in Shimla on Thursday. He was 87.
A scion of the Rampur-Bushahr royal family and popularly known as Raja Sahib, Singh was a tall leader of the Congress and also served as a Union minister. The veteran leader breathed his last at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla at 3.40 am, senior medical superintendent, Dr. Janak Raj, said.
“Popular for his affable and grounded nature, he remained close to people brought about far reaching positive changes through his administrative acumen,” Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said in her condolence message.
“He was one of the tallest stalwarts of the Congress party and remained a dedicated Congressperson throughout,” she added.
Born on June 23, 1934, Singh was educated at Colonel Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun, St Edward’s School, Shimla, and Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, before he graduated with an honours degree in English from St Stephen’s College, Delhi
Singh began his political career at 27 with the Lok Sabha elections in 1962. He went on to serve as a member of Parliament for four more terms, in 1967, 1971, 1980 and 2009.
{{/usCountry}}Singh began his political career at 27 with the Lok Sabha elections in 1962. He went on to serve as a member of Parliament for four more terms, in 1967, 1971, 1980 and 2009.
{{/usCountry}}His first stint as chief minister came in 1983 when the previous Congress government, helmed by Ram Lal Thakur, was mired in controversy.
Singh successfully contested the byelections from Thakur’s turf of Jubbal Kotkhai in 1983 and 1985 and won over his loyalists.Such was his popularity that he was re-elected as chief minister in 1993, 2003 and 2012. He also won the Lok Sabha election in 2009 and served as Union minister of steel and later as minister of micro, small and medium enterprises.
Singh faced corruption allegations later in his political career and faced a case for owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his stint as Union minister from 2009.
Singh spent most of the time in his last tenure as CM, between 2012 and 2017, shuttling between Delhi and Shimla, battling money laundering charges.
He was elected to the assembly in 2017 from Arki. His son Vikramaditya Singh is the legislator from Shimla Rural constituency.