The 8th Prime Minister of India had the second shortest tenure. Chandrasekhar Singh, born to an agricultural family, rose in politics from strength to strength before he became the Prime Minister of India, though short-lived, Chandrasekhar as former Prime Minister of India is worth our remembrance.

Congress days

Chandrasekhar joined the Congress in the 1960’s and became a member of the Rajya Sabha. Even though he was part of the Congress, he vehemently criticized Indira Gandhi’s policies. The difference in opinion created the factionalism in Congress. The emergency landed Chandrasekhar in prison and his return to politics after emergency would shake the established order of politics in India. His padayatra across India garnered huge support for him and he was called the ‘Young Turk’ for his conviction and courage.

Early socialism

Chandrasekhar’s early exposure to socialist principles and politics made him one of the early entrants and later veteran of socialist politics of India. He became the general secretary of Praja Socialist Party (PSP) before becoming a congress politician. He becoming a congress politician did not stop the Indira Gandhi government to arrest him during the emergency.

Rajiv pulls the plug on Chandrasekhar’s Prime Ministership

Chandrasekhar after leading his faction of supporters would go on to form the government with the help of his newly formed party. The faction would also have a future prime minister in the form of Deve Gowda. Chandrasekhar would go on to implement crucial rural initiatives besides being the Prime Minister of India while the middle east was in turmoil i.e the gulf war.