Chaturanan Mishra (7 April 1925 – 2 July 2011)The Economic Times. Former Minister Chaturanan Mishra passes away was an Indian politician and trade unionist. Mishra, who was born in Nahar, Madhubani District,Lok Sabha. Biographical Sketch - Member of Parliament - XI Lok Sabha was a key leader of the Communist Party of India in Bihar, and served as the Agriculture Minister of India in the United Front government.

He was the founder general secretary of the Kedar Das Institute for Labour and Social Studies.

Quit India Movement Mishra took part in the 1942 Quit India Movement.Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 76 Due to his pro-Independence activism, he had to go into exile in Nepal for a period. Back in India, he was imprisoned at Darbhanga jail.

1962–1980 He contested the Giridih seat in the 1962 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, finishing second with 6,379 votes.Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT GENERAL ELECTION, 1962 THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF BIHAR

Mishra joined the National Council of the Communist Party of India in 1964. He became the president of the Bihar State Committee of the All India Trade Union Congress.

Between 1969 and 1980 he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, representing the Giridih seat.Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 71 He led the CPI faction in the Legislative Assembly for ten years. During this period he was referred to as 'the backbone of CPI in Bihar'.Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 73 Madhubani, Mishra's home turf, got the nickname 'Leningrad of Bihar'. Mishra also served as president of the World Miners Association for a period.

Mishra contested the Hazaribagh seat in the 1977 Lok Sabha election. He finished third with 35,809 votes (12.45%).Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1977 TO THE SIXTH LOK SABHA

1980s He was defeated by Urmila Devi of the Congress (I) in a 1981 by-election (the 1980 election had been suspended following the death of Congress (I) candidate Randhir Prasad, Urmila Devi's husband).Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 74 Mishra's candidature had been supported by the CPI(M), RSP and Lok Dal.Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 79

During the 1980s, Mishra became the president of the All India Trade Union Congress. In 1984 he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

In April 1989, he was included in the party secretariat of CPI.

In 1990, he was again elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Union Minister Mishra was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1996 election from the Madhubani constituency with 282,194 votes. His candidature had been supported by Janata Dal.Indian Express. Chaturanan Mishra may find the going tough this time After the election he became Union Minister for Agriculture, a position he would hold until 1998.Mishra, Chaturanan. Need to Redefine Socialism after the Collapse of the Soviet Union, article in Mainstream Mishra was one of the two (along with Indrajit Gupta) first communist Union Ministers in Indian history.Manisha. Profiles of Indian Prime Ministers: Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh. New Delhi: Mittal Publ, 2005. p. 367 In May 1997 he also overtook the portfolios of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution as Union Minister.

In 1998 Mishra was excluded from the CPI secretariat. Officially health factors were claimed as the rationale behind his exclusion, but the press speculated that the move was motivated by Mishra's opposition on the position of the party in opposing the introduction of President's Rule in Bihar.Indian Express. Chaturanan dropped from CPI secretariat

Mishra died in New Delhi at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at the age of 86.

References

External links No Subsidies For A Lost Cause, article in Outlook