Virbhadra Singh passes away: End of an era as Himachal loses its Raja Sahib

The longest-serving chief minister of Himachal Pradesh who dominated the state politics for 50 years, Virbhadra Singh, who passed away early Thursday morning, leaves behind a rich legacy. An old-school politician, Singh, fondly also called Raja Sahib, used a rare combination of wit and charm to overcome every political challenge that came his way, both from within the party and outside.

Singh contracted Covid twice, once on April 12 and then in June but managed to recover before succumbing to Covid-related complications.

The six-time chief minister of Himachal Pradesh was elected to the state assembly nine times. He was also a five-time MP.

Singh, who started his political innings at the age of 27 when he was elected a member of Parliament in 1962, the youngest in the third Lok Sabha, remained a staunch Congressman all his life. He had been an MP thrice, in 1967, 1971 and 1980 before he became the state chief minister.

Rahul Gandhi and Virbhadra Singh during Congress rally in Mandi in 2017. (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar)

Singh’s first stint as CM started in 1983 when Singh was sent by the Congress to replace its then tallest leader Ram Lal, who ran into a storm after large-scale felling of forests. His first innings as the CM lasted till 1990 when he was succeeded by Shanta Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Since then, Himachal Pradesh has alternated between the Congress and the BJP except for a brief period of President’s Rule between 1992 and 1993.

Born into the royal family of Sarahan in Shimla district on June 23, 1934, Singh was anointed the king at the age of 13 in 1947. He studied at Bishop Cotton School at Shimla before graduating with honours from St Stephen’s College in Delhi.

An honorary captain of the Indian Army, Singh remained till the end one of the most widely respected leaders of the hill state. Although his opponents often accused him of being ‘feudalistic’ and ‘inflexible’, people admired his easy charm and charisma. He had an undeniable public connect, most evident at his widely attended rallies.

In the pre-cell phone era, Singh was one of those chief ministers who would answer his phone himself.

As he advanced in age, Singh had to fend off threats from younger leaders, who often charged him with monopolising the party and not letting a second layer emerge. Before the 2017 elections, Singh was at daggers drawn with state Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu but managed to tide over the differences.

Virbhadra Singh with Narendra Modi in New Delhi in 2016. (Express photo)

Of late, Singh was also dogged by corruption charges. It was the Dhumal government that first charged him with corruption in what came to be known as the CD case but CBI gave him a clean chit in 2012 just before his re-election as CM.

In 2015, the CBI filed a case against Singh and his family for owning assets to the tune of Rs. 6.1 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income when he was the union minister between 2009 and 2011. He and his wife Pratibha Singh were chargesheeted in the case in 2019 and were at present facing trial.

Singh fought and won his last election from Arki in 2017, vacating his traditional constituency of Shimla-Rural, for his son Vikramaditya Singh.

Singh is survived by his wife Pratibha Singh, a former member of Parliament, son Vikramaditya Singh, a legislator, and two daughters, Abhilasha Singh, a former high court judge, and Aparajita Singh, who is married to Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh’s grandson.

Virbhadra Singh celebrates holi at his residence in Shimla in 2019. (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar)

A LONG INNINGS

Singh was 26 when he joined Congress in 1961. A year later, he entered Lok Sabha from Mahasu constituency in undivided Punjab and became the youngest member of the third Lok Sabha. He entered the Parliament again in 1967 and won from Mandi seat in 1971, where he repeated in 1980 and then again in 2009.

Singh was Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation at the Centre between 1976 and 1977, and Minister of State for Industries between 1980 and 1983.

From May 2009 until January 2011, he was the Union Steel Minister and was shifted to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry until his resignation in June 2012 following charges of corruption.

He was elected nine times to Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The first was in a by-election in October 1983, when he was returned for the Jubbal-Kotkhai constituency. He won that seat again in the 1985 elections.

Thereafter, he was elected from the Rohru constituency in 1990, 1993, 1998, and 2003.

He was president of the State Congress Committee in 1977, 1979, 1980.