Jagannath Mishra was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar and as minister in the Union cabinet. Involved at a high level in the Indian National Congress, he was elected Chief Minister of Bihar three times from 1975-1977, 1980-1983 and 1989-1990. In Bihar, he was the most powerful Congress leader in the late 70s and 80s and was rated as the biggest mass leader in the Congress. Jagannath Mishra was affectionately called as "Doctor Sahib" and "Maulana". He wrote many research papers and also authored and edited a number of books.
Career of Jagannath Mishra
Jagannath Mishra began his career as a lecturer and later became professor of economics at Bihar University. In 1989, he succeeded Senior Congress leader and the then Chief Minister of Bihar Late Satyendra Narayan Sinha and became the Chief Minister of Bihar for the third time. Jagannath Mishra was involved in the Bhoodan Movement, started by Vinoba Bhave, between 1953 and 1960 and gave up most of his inherited land to the landless. After leaving Congress, he joined the Nationalist Congress Party and later the Janata Dal (United).
Contributions of Jagannath Mishra
Jagannath Mishra supported and practiced populism, and had earned popularity among the teachers by taking over hundreds of private primary, middle and high schools across the state in 1977.
On 10 June 1980, during his first cabinet meeting of his second term as Chief Minister of Bihar, Mishra promised to get the state Official Language Act amended to make Urdu the second official language of the State. On 19 September 1980 Jagannath Mishra led State Government notified Urdu as the second official language of the state.
Controversies of Jagannath Mishra
On 30th September 2013, a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Ranchi convicted him, along with 44 others, in the Fodder Scam. He was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 rupees. On 20 July 2018, the Jharkhand High Court granted regular bail to Jagannath Mishra, who was on provisional bail in three cases of the multi-crore fodder scam.
Personal Life of Jagannath Mishra
Jagannath Mishra lived in Patna. His wife Veena died in 2018 at the age of 72. His elder brother, Lalit Narayan Mishra, served as the Railway Minister of India between 1973 and 1975. Jagannath Mishra"s son, Nitish Mishra, is also a politician and has served as Cabinet Minister in the Government of Bihar.
Death of Jagannath Mishra
Jagannath Mishra passed away on 19th August 2019 following a prolonged illness. The 84-year-old leader had been suffering from cancer and was undergoing treatment in a Delhi hospital.
