Bihar's shortest-serving CM Satish Prasad Singh dies of Covid-19 in Delhi

PATNA: Bihar's shortest-serving CM Satish Prasad Singh (87) died of Covid-19 at a private hospital in Delhi’s Saket locality on Monday, just six days after his spouse’s demise.
His wife Gyan Kala Devi (84) passed away due to old-age ailments at another private hospital in Delhi on October 27, Singh’s youngest son and Congress leader Sushil Kumar told TOI over phone on Monday.
Singh became Bihar’s sixth chief minister in 1968 for only five days. Despite being the first-time MLA, Singh headed a coalition government and served as the CM from January 28, 1968 to February 1, 1968. He was also Bihar's first non-upper caste chief minister.
“My father was tested positive for Covid-19 on October 24 following a test in New Delhi. After that, we admitted him at a private hospital in Saket locality of the national capital. He breathed his last at 1.20pm on Monday,” Singh’s son Sushil said.
Singh became an MLA from Parbatta assembly constituency on the ticket of Sanyukta Socialist Party in 1967. During his first term as MLA, he rose to the post of the CM. As the CM, Singh was succeeded by great socialist leader BP Mandal who later headed the Mandal Commission.
Later in 1980, he became a member of the Lok Sabha after winning the parliamentary election from Khagaria seat on Congress ticket.
“Singh was a great leader not because he became the CM in his first term as the MLA, but mainly because he always took the side of truth and honesty throughout his political career. He sold 52 bigha of his ancestral land while remaining active in politics. He was a rare politician,” said Prof Hind Keshri who recently wrote a biography of Satish Singh.
“Despite stiff opposition from his family, Singh solemnized love marriage, that too, with a girl of other caste in 1954. As Gyan Kala’s family too was opposing their inter-caste marriage, she eloped from her home at Munger. In those days, inter-caste marriage was rare happening in remote areas of Bihar,” Prof Keshri, a senior teacher of Hindi at the Veer Kuer Singh University, Ara, told TOI.
Bihar governor Phagu Chauhan, CM Nitish Kumar, Congress legislature party leader Sadanand Singh, information and public relations minister Neeraj Kumar and many other politicians condoled the death of the former CM.