Suraj Bhan


Suraj Bhan was a scheduled caste leader and an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on four occasions, and also served as the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, governor of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar.

Personal Life

He was born on 1 October 1928 into Chamar caste in Mehlanwali, Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana and studied MA and LLB at Panjab University and Kurukshetra University.

Political career

Suraj Bhan Banswal, started his public life as a volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
. He started his political career with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which eventually became the Bharatiya Janata Party and dropped his last name "Banswal" after joining active politics. He represented Ambala
parliamentary constituency of Haryana in the 4th, 6th, 7th and the 11th Lok Sabhas. In 1987, he was elected to Haryana assembly and served as Revenue Minister in Devi Lal's government between 1987 and 1989. After the BJP broke alliance with Devi Lal's party, he served as Leader of Opposition in the Haryana assembly.
In 1996, he was named Agriculture minister in First Vajpayee Ministry after which he served as deputy speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha, during the United Front government. He contested 1998 Lok Sabha elections, but lost to Aman
Kumar Nagra of the BSP. Afterwards, he took over
as Governor of Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh
, and officiated as Governor of Bihar.
In 2002 Dr Suraj Bhan also joined the race for the post of Vice-President of the country following re-thinking in the BJP over the candidature of former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Certain senior Dalit leaders of the Congress unofficially conveyed that Mrs Sonia Gandhi had no objection to Dr Suraj Bhan's candidature.
In February 2004, he was appointed as Chairman of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission. He died of cardiac arrest following multiple organ failure on 6 August 2006 in New Delhi, while still continuing in the post of the Chairman of SC/ST Commission. He was aged 78.