Bhairon Singh Shekhawat: News

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician, a former Vice-President of India, and a three-time Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Initially a Police Inspector, he entered politics by joining the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) in the 1950s and successfully contested his first election in 1952 for the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. He became the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in 1977 after the Janata Party won. However, his term was cut short as the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dismissed the state government in 1980. The same year, Shekhawat joined the BJP on its founding. He won the 1990 Rajasthan Assembly elections and became Chief Minister for the second time, but his government was dismissed yet again in 1992. Shekhawat became Rajasthan CM for the third and final time in the elections held next year, and on this occasion, served a full term from 1993 to 1998. In his political career, Shekhawat fought from 10 constituencies and won from eight of them. He was the Vice-President of India from 2002 to 2007 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2003. Shekhawat passed away in 2010 due to cancer.