Remembering Chandra Shekhar, India’s 8th PM who was in office for just seven months

On Chandra Shekhar's 14th death anniversary, a look at the life and times of the former Prime Minister of India in pictures.

(from left to right): RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, former PMs Chandra Shekhar and Manmohan Singh at an Iftar party at Bihar Bhawan, New Delhi| Photo: Praveen Jain

New Delhi: The eighth Prime Minister of India, Chandra Shekhar, held the post for a little over seven months and yet he is still remembered as a civil and sharp leader.

Born on 1 July 1927 in a farmer’s family in Uttar Pradesh, he was always known for his revolutionary fervour.

Shekhar was first elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in 1962 and three years later, joined the Indian National Congress. In 1967, just two years after he joined the party, he was made General Secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

However, he soon became a voice of dissent in the party and when the Emergency was declared in 1975, he was arrested despite being a Congress member.

Soon after, he left Congress and joined the Janata Party. In the 1989 elections, he won from his home constituency, Ballia in UP and the adjoining Maharajganj constituency in Bihar. He was a Member of Parliament since 1962 except for a brief period from 1984 to 1989.

He was the eighth PM of India — from 10 November 1990 to 21 June 1991. After Chaudhary Charan Singh, he is the second PM to be elected for such a short span of time.

Shekhar also undertook a padyatra (marathon walk) from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Rajghat, the resting place of Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi in 1983. The rally started on 6 January 1983 and was completed on 25 June 1983 and he covered a distance of nearly 4,260 km.

On his 14th death anniversary, ThePrint brings you the political journey of Chandra Shekhar from the lens of National Photo Editor Praveen Jain.

The National Front had come together as Opposition to Congress in 1988. Chandra Shekhar’s Janata Party joined hands with V.P. Singh’s Janata Dal | Photo: Praveen Jain

Chandra Shekhar talks on the phone at his ashram in Bhondsi village, Gurugram | Photo: Praveen Jain

Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar enjoying the view of a lake sitting atop a rock at his ashram | Photo: Praveen Jain

(From left to right): Former PM Chandra Shekhar, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah at a rally at Ramlila ground in New Delhi| Photo: Praveen Jain

(from left to right) Former PM P.V. Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Chandra Shekhar and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh taking a walk in the garden in Bhondsi ashram | Photo: Praveen Jain

Former PM Rajiv Gandhi with Chandra Shekhar at a function in Bhondsi | Photo: Praveen Jain

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chandra Shekhar at a public rally at Ramlila ground in New Delhi | Photo: Praveen Jain

A.B. Vajpayee, Chandra Shekhar and Sharad Pawar at a rally | Photo: Praveen Jain

(From left to right): Lalu Prasad Yadav, Chandra Shekhar and former PM Narasimha Rao | Photo: Praveen Jain

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi (centre) talks to Chandra Shekhar (right) | Photo: Praveen Jain

Chandra Shekhar hikes through rocks at his ashram in Bhondsi | Photo: Praveen Jain

Amar Singh and Chandra Shekhar on a hike in Bhondsi | Photo: Praveen Jain

Former PM Chandra Shekhar shows his voting slip during the presidential election at Parliament House | Photo: Praveen Jain

(From left to right) Former prime ministers Vishwanath Pratap Singh, I.K. Gujral, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Chandra Shekhar at a tea party | Photo: Praveen Jain

(from left to right) Former prime ministers I. K. Gujral, Deve Gowda, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Chandra Shekhar at the Parliament House | Photo: Praveen Jain

This report has been updated to accurately reflect that Chandra Shekhar was born in 1927 and not 1972. The error is regretted.