29 Facts About Virbhadra Singh

Virbhadra Singh was an Indian politician who served 6 terms and 21 years as the 4th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Virbhadra Singh was popularly known by the honorific Raja Sahib.

Virbhadra Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962,1967,1971,1980 and 2009.

Virbhadra Singh served as a Union Minister in the governments of Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Virbhadra Singh.

Virbhadra Singh was born on 23 June 1934 at Sarahan, Shimla district in the royal Rajput family of the erstwhile princely state of Bushahr.

Virbhadra Singh was the 122nd titular Raja of Bushahr from 1947 until 1971, when, by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the privy purses of the princes were abolished and official recognition of their titles came to an end.

Virbhadra Singh was educated at Colonel Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun, St Edward's School, Shimla and Bishop Cotton School, Shimla and later obtained a BA Honours degree from St Stephen's College, Delhi.

Virbhadra Singh was married to Ratna Kumari, princess of Jubbal in May 1954.

Virbhadra Singh repeated that success in the elections of 1967 and 1971.

Virbhadra Singh was again elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 and a further election to that house came in 2009, following an absence from the intervening two Lok Sabhas.

Virbhadra Singh's wife had served a term following her victory in the 2004 elections.

Virbhadra Singh was a member of the Indian Delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1976.

Between 1976 and 1977, Virbhadra Singh held the national office of Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in central cabinet.

Virbhadra Singh was Minister of State for Industries between 1980 and 1983.

Virbhadra Singh then became cabinet minister with responsibility for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, until resigning from office in June 2012.

Virbhadra Singh won that seat again in the 1985 elections.

Virbhadra Singh became the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh for the first time in April 1983 and held the post until March 1990.

Virbhadra Singh was again appointed to the role between December 1993 and March 1998; and once more from March 2003.

Between 1998 and 2003, Virbhadra Singh was Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly.

Virbhadra Singh was president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee in 1977,1979 and 1980 and from 26 August 2012 to December 2012.

Virbhadra Singh was appointed to lead the party on the eve of the November 2012 elections and did so with success.

Virbhadra Singh's party lost majority in the 2017 elections and he tendered his resignation afterwards.

Outside of politics, Virbhadra Singh had an involvement with various social and cultural bodies.

The allegations were that they had breached the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1989, when Virbhadra Singh was Chief Minister of the state.

On 26 June 2012, Virbhadra Singh resigned from the Union Cabinet as a consequence of corruption charges being pressed against him.

The couple were acquitted on the eve of Virbhadra Singh taking the role of Chief Minister in December 2012.

Virbhadra Singh's health deteriorated after he suffered from a cardiac arrest on 5 July 2021 in Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla.

Virbhadra Singh died on 8 July 2021 due to multiple organ failure.

Virbhadra Singh was cremated with full state honours in Shimla's Rampur Bushahr on 10 July 2021.