The three-day’s Chief Minister of Bihar passed away today afternoon
Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, November 2
Satish Prasad Singh (90), a former chief minister of Bihar for three days in late 60s, died of Corona in a New Delhi hospital on Monday afternoon.
His wife had died of Corona in the same hospital five days ago.
Satish Prasad Singh had the distinction of being the chief minister of Bihar for three days in 1968 and headed a coalition government of the then newly formed Shoshit Samaj Dal with the support of the Congress.
He had succeeded Mahamaya Prasad Sinha, the first non-Congress chief minister of Samyukta Vidhayak Dal in 1967. He was defeated when BP Mandal of the Mandal commission fame revolted and formed Shoshit Dal.
Mandal became CM succeeding Singh, but he also remained CM for 30 days only as Socialists revolted and mid-term elections took place.
Satish Singh was first elected to the state assembly from Parbatta in Khagaria district in 1967 and in his very first term he became chief minister. While talking to this scribe in 2015, Singh recalled his days as CM and said the first thing he did after taking oath was to go to the Khadi Bhawan near Gandhi Maidan to purchase new garments suitable for the CM.
Soon after getting elected MLA, Satish Prasad Singh in 1977 had produced, directed and acted as hero in a film-Jogi aur Jawani which had hit the Patna cinema halls then.
He joined the Congress in 1980 and was elected to Lok Sabha in his very first attempt. He had joined the BJP in September 2013, but quit later protesting against poor representation of Kushwahas in the assembly tickets distribution.
As former chief minister, he was allotted a bungalow with security cover, bullet proof vehicle and staff on Hardinge Road. However, following orders of the Supreme Court, he had to vacate like other former chief ministers and shifted to his private house in Ashiyana Nagar.
He along with his wife had gone to New Delhi ten days ago for treatment, where first his wife died on October 28 and today, he also succumbed to the novel COVID-19.
His daughter Suchitra Sinha was a minister in Nitish Kumar-led cabinet while son-in-law Nagmani was union minister of state in Vajpayee led government.
