Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was an illustrious figure in the history of Indian politics and had a fleet of numerous titles to his name. Shekhawat was born on October 23, 1923, in the village of Khachariawas of the princely state of Jaipur.
Today marks the 12th death anniversary of India's 11th Vice President, former Chief Minister of Rajasthan and Chief Minister and senior BJP leader. He died on 15 May 2010, two days after he was admitted to a hospital here complaining of uneasiness and breathing problems.
Shekhawat, 87, breathed his last at 11.10 AM at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital.
He was the 11th vice president of India and 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.
A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shekhawat was a leading member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the time of the election.
He served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan three times, from 1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992 and 1993 to 1998. In 2003, he was also conferred the Padma Bhushan.
Shekhawat was the only member of the Rajasthan Assembly to have won in every assembly election since 1952, except in 1972 when he lost from Gandhi Nagar in Jaipur.
He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh in 1974.
His brainchild - the Antyodaya scheme to help the poorest of the poor, brought international accolades for Shekhawat with the then World Bank Chief Robert McNamara describing him as the Rockefeller of India.
(with sources inputs)
