Vasant Kumar Pandit
Vasant Kumar Pandit (1921-1987) was an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh party from Mumbai. Later he was part of Janata Party and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Vasant Kumar Pandit | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament | |
| Preceded by | Jagannath Rao Joshi |
| Succeeded by | Digvijaya Singh |
| Constituency | Rajgarh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 September 1921 Bombay, India |
| Died | 5 June 1987 (aged 66) Bombay, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Jan Sangh Janata Party |
| Spouse | Shushila Pandit |
| Children | Two Daughter and one son |
| Residence | Setalwad Road. Bombay |
| Source: | |
He was born on 5 June 1921 to Ramkrishna Pandit. He died on 25 September 1987. Famous classical singer Pandit Jasraj was his cousin. He was a professor of Sanskrit at Wilson College in Mumbai and an Astrologer. While he was from Maharashtra and represented Jana Sangh in Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad as a member, he contested 6th & 7th Lok Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh in BJP strongholds in 1970's. He joined Jaya Prakash Narayan in his Sampoorna Kranti Movement.[1]
A scholarly person, he was associated with Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, Bharatiya Sangeet Samsad, Indo-Israel League for 10 years, and Prince of Wales Museum for 3 years, among his many social activities.[2]
He took the oath of membership of Lok Sabha in Sanskrit language. As for his association with astrology, BJP leader L. K. Advani has recounted how Pandit accurately predicted a period in the wilderness for his party in 1975-76 just when things were actually looking promising for them.
Dr. Pandit, a renowned professional astrologer said, 'At least my reading of astrology says we are heading for a two-year exile!'.
He was one of the Bharatiya Janata Party's executive members. "Dr Pandit was a member of the Maharashtra legislative council for 18 years and a member of the Lok Sabha from 1977 to 1984 from Madhya Pradesh" [3]
Organizational Positions
Secretary, Bharatiya Jan Sangh; Bombay Unit 1953–1966;
President, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Bombay Unit, 1957–1966,
President, Maharashtra State Jan Sangh, 1969–1977;
Elected Positions
He was elected to Lok Sabha from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh in 1977 on Janata Party's ticket. He won re-election from there in 1980. He joined Bharatiya Janata Party in April 1980 when Janata party split.
References
- Singh, Dalip. "Party chief was hesitant to say no to me..., so I opted out on my own: Sumitra Mahajan". The Economic Times.
- "Members Bioprofile". nic.in. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- "L K Advani: 'Whoever forms the government doesn't hesitate in committing excesses, even some of our people'".