V. P. Singh

Vishwanath Pratap Singh
Singh in Brussels, 1983
Prime Minister of India
In office 2 December 1989 – 10 November 1990
President	R. Venkataraman
Vice President	Shankar Dayal Sharma
Deputy	Devi Lal (until 1 August 1990)
Preceded by	Rajiv Gandhi
Succeeded by	Chandra Shekhar
Union Minister of External Affairs
In office 2 December 1989 – 5 December 1989
Preceded by	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	I. K. Gujral
Union Minister of Defence
In office 2 December 1989 – 10 November 1990
Preceded by	Krishna Chandra Pant
Succeeded by	Chandra Shekhar
In office 24 January 1987 – 12 April 1987
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Rajiv Gandhi
Succeeded by	Krishna Chandra Pant
Union Minister of Finance
In office 31 December 1984 – 23 January 1987
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Pranab Mukherjee
Succeeded by	Rajiv Gandhi
15th Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha
In office December 1984 – April 1987
Preceded by	Pranab Mukherjee
Succeeded by	Narayan Datt Tiwari
12th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
In office 9 June 1980 – 19 July 1982
Governor	Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh
Preceded by	Banarsi Das
Succeeded by	Sripati Mishra
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 1983–1988
Constituency	Uttar Pradesh
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1989–1996
Preceded by	Hari Krishna Shastri
Succeeded by	Vishambhar Prasad Nishad
Constituency	Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh
In office 1980–1980
Preceded by	Janeshwar Mishra
Succeeded by	Krishna Prakash Tiwari
Constituency	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
In office 1988–1989
Preceded by	Amitabh Bachchan
Succeeded by	Janeshwar Mishra
Constituency	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
In office 1971–1977
Preceded by	Janeshwar Mishra
Succeeded by	Kamala Bahuguna
Constituency	Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh
President of Jan Morcha
In office 1988
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Raj Babbar
1st President of Janata Dal
In office 1988 – 1997
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Sharad Yadav
Pretender information
Title(s)	41st Raja Bahadur of Manda
Throne(s) claimed	Manda
Pretend from	1971–2008
Monarchy abolished	Sovereign Monarchy 1947 (Instrument of Accession) Titular Monarchy 1971 (26th Amendment of the Indian Constitution)
Last monarch	himself
Successor	Ajeya Pratap Singh
41st Raja Bahadur of Manda
Reign	1941–1947
Predecessor	Ram Gopal Singh
Titular Reign	1947–1971
Born	(1931-06-25)25 June 1931 Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (present-day Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died	27 November 2008(2008-11-27) (aged 77) New Delhi, Delhi, India
Spouse	Sita Kumari ​ (m. 1955)​ [1]
House	Gaharwal
Religion	Hinduism
Alma mater	Allahabad University (BA, LL.B.) University of Pune (BS)
Political party	Indian National Congress (1969–1987) Janata Dal (1988–1999) Jan Morcha (1987–1988, 2006–2008)
Children	2, including Ajeya Pratap Singh
Signature

Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician and the Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990^[2] and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda.^[3]

He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in Pune.^[4] In 1969, he joined the Indian National Congress party and was elected as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.^[5]

In the Rajiv Gandhi ministry, Singh was given various cabinet posts, including Minister of Finance and Minister of Defence. Singh was also the Leader of the Rajya Sabha from 1984 to 1987. During his tenure as Minister of Defence, the Bofors scandal came to light, and Singh resigned from the ministry. In 1988, he formed the Janata Dal party by merging various factions of the Janata Party. In the 1989 elections, the National Front, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), formed the government and Singh became the 7th Prime Minister of India.

During his tenure as prime minister, he implemented the Mandal Commission report for India's backward castes, which led to major protests against the act. He also created the Sixty-second Amendment and enacted the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act in 1989. During his term the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed happened and on the ground the terrorists were released. In 1990 the infamous exodus of Kashmiri Hindus happened from the valley of Kashmir. Following his opposition to the Ram Rath Yatra, the BJP withdrew its support for the National Front, and his government lost the vote of no-confidence. Singh resigned on 7 November 1990. His prime ministerial tenure lasted for 343 days.

Singh was the prime ministerial candidate for the National Front in the 1991 elections, but was defeated. He turned down Prime Ministership after the 1996 Indian general election even through he was the first choice and relinquished the prime ministership to Deve Gowda.^[6][7] He spoke out against the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. After 1996, Singh retired from political posts, but continued to remain a public figure and political critic. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1998, and ceased public appearances until the cancer went into remission in 2003. However, he died from complications of multiple myeloma and kidney failure in 2008. He was buried with full state honours.