Vemareddy at 19:35, 11 March 2026

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Chaturanan Mishra
|image = Chaturanan Mishra.jpg
|caption =
|birth_date = 7 April 1925
|birth_place = Nahar, Madhubani District, Bihar
| death_date ={{Death date and age|2011|07|2|1925|04|7}}
|death_place =
| office = [[Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare|Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare]],<br>[[Government of India]]
| primeminister = [[H. D. Deve Gowda]]<br />[[I. K. Gujral]]
|term_start = 10 July 1996
|term_end = 19 March 1998
|predecessor = [[H. D. Deve Gowda]]
|successor = [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
|title1 = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha]]
|term_start1 = 1996
|term_end1 = 1998
|predecessor1 = [[Bhogendra Jha]]
|successor1 = [[Shakeel Ahmad]]
|constituency1 = [[Madhubani (Lok Sabha constituency)|Madhubani]]
| office3 = [[Member of Parliament]] of [[Rajya Sabha]] for [[Bihar]]
| term_start3 = 1984
| term_end3 = 1996
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| predecessor4 =
| successor4 =
| party = [[Communist Party of India]]
|occupation = Politician<br>
Indian freedom fighter
|movement =
|alma matter =
|principal ideas =
|major works =
|influences =
|influenced =
| nationality = Indian
| native_name_lang =
}}
'''Chaturanan Mishra''' (7 April 1925 – 2 July 2011)<ref name="eco">''The Economic Times''. ''[http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/former-minister-chaturanan-mishra-passes-away/articleshow/9076012.cms Former Minister Chaturanan Mishra passes away]''</ref> was an Indian politician and [[trade union]]ist. Mishra, who was born in Nahar, [[Madhubani District]],<ref name="ls">[[Lok Sabha]]. ''[http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lok11/biodata/11bi34.htm Biographical Sketch - Member of Parliament - XI Lok Sabha]''</ref> was a key leader of the [[Communist Party of India]] in [[Bihar]], and served as the Agriculture Minister of India in the [[United Front (India, 1996)|United Front]] government.

He was the founder general secretary of the [[Kedar Das Institute for Labour and Social Studies]].<ref>{{cite report |title=Synopsis of Debates |publisher=Rajya Sabha Secretariat |date=1 August 2011 |url=https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/UploadedFiles/Synopsis/SynopsisUpload/223/01082011.pdf |page=11 |access-date=12 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Lok Sabha Debates |publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat |date=1 August 2011 |url=https://eparlib.sansad.in/bitstream/123456789/758565/1/01.08.11_VIII.pdf |page=40 |access-date=12 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Biographical Sketch of Chaturanan Mishra |website=IndiaPress – Lok Sabha Archives |url=https://www.indiapress.org/election/archives/lok11/biodata/11bi34.php |access-date=12 March 2026}}</ref>
==Quit India Movement==
Mishra took part in the 1942 [[Quit India Movement]].<ref name="ls"/><ref name="p76">Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nQoRXtPsoSwC&pg=PA76 Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes]''. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 76</ref> 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.<ref name="ls"/>

==1962–1980==
He contested the [[Giridih]] seat in the 1962 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, finishing second with 6,379 votes.<ref>[[Election Commission of India]]. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/statisticalreports/SE_1962/StatRep_Bihar_1962.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT GENERAL ELECTION, 1962 THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF BIHAR]''</ref>

Mishra joined the National Council of the Communist Party of India in 1964.<ref name="ls"/> He became the president of the Bihar State Committee of the [[All India Trade Union Congress]].<ref name="p76"/>

Between 1969 and 1980 he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, representing the [[Giridih]] seat.<ref name="ls"/><ref>Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nQoRXtPsoSwC&pg=PA71 Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes]''. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 71</ref> He led the CPI faction in the Legislative Assembly for ten years.<ref name="ls"/> During this period he was referred to as 'the backbone of CPI in Bihar'.<ref>Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nQoRXtPsoSwC&pg=PA73 Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes]''. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 73</ref> Madhubani, Mishra's home turf, got the nickname '[[Leningrad]] of Bihar'.<ref name="ex"/> Mishra also served as president of the World Miners Association for a period.<ref name="p76"/>

Mishra contested the [[Hazaribagh (Lok Sabha constituency)|Hazaribagh seat]] in the [[1977 Indian general election|1977 Lok Sabha election]]. He finished third with 35,809 votes (12.45%).<ref>[[Election Commission of India]]. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/statisticalreports/LS_1977/Vol_I_LS_77.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1977 TO THE SIXTH LOK SABHA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718185438/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1977/Vol_I_LS_77.pdf |date=18 July 2014 }}''</ref>

==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).<ref>Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nQoRXtPsoSwC&pg=PA74 Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes]''. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 74</ref> Mishra's candidature had been supported by the [[CPI(M)]], [[revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|RSP]] and [[Lok Dal]].<ref>Mishra, S. N., L. M. Prasad, and Kushal Sharma. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nQoRXtPsoSwC&pg=PA79 Tribal Voting Behaviour: A Study of Bihar Tribes]''. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 1982. p. 79</ref>

During the 1980s, Mishra became the president of the All India Trade Union Congress. In 1984 he was elected to the [[Rajya Sabha]].<ref name="ls"/>

In April 1989 he was included in the party secretariat of CPI.<ref name="ls"/>

In 1990, he was again elected to the Rajya Sabha.<ref name="ls"/>

==Union Minister==
Mishra was elected to the [[Lok Sabha]] in the [[1996 Indian general election|1996 election]] from the [[Madhubani (Lok Sabha constituency)|Madhubani constituency]] with 282,194 votes.<ref name="ls"/> His candidature had been supported by [[Janata Dal]].<ref name="ex">''[[Indian Express]]''. ''[http://www.indianexpress.com/fe/daily/19980221/05255404.html Chaturanan Mishra may find the going tough this time]''</ref> After the election he became Union Minister for Agriculture, a position he would hold until 1998.<ref name="ls"/><ref>Mishra, Chaturanan. ''[http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article492.html Need to Redefine Socialism after the Collapse of the Soviet Union]'', article in ''Mainstream''</ref> Mishra was one of the two (along with [[Indrajit Gupta]]) first communist Union Ministers in Indian history.<ref>Manisha. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=lSCyVxEg2t4C&pg=PA367 Profiles of Indian Prime Ministers: Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh]''. New Delhi: Mittal Publ, 2005. p. 367</ref> In May 1997 he also overtook the portfolios of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution as Union Minister.<ref name="ls"/>

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.<ref>''[[Indian Express]]''. ''[http://www.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19981101/30550644.html Chaturanan dropped from CPI secretariat]''</ref>

Mishra died in [[New Delhi]] at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at the age of 86.<ref name="eco"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*''[http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?204472 No Subsidies For A Lost Cause]'', article in ''Outlook''

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Chaturanan}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India politicians from Bihar]]
[[Category:Members of the Cabinet of India]]
[[Category:Agriculture ministers of India]]
[[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Bihar]]
[[Category:Trade unionists from Bihar]]
[[Category:People from Madhubani district]]
[[Category:India MPs 1996–1997]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Bihar]]

Chaturanan Mishra - Revision history

Vemareddy at 19:35, 11 March 2026