Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is the Vice-President of India. He was born on October 23, 1923 at Khachariyawas in Rajasthan. Poverty forced him to quit his education before completing high school. He found a job of a police constable.
He was an RSS functionary from a young age. In 1952, he quit his job to contest the first Assembly elections as a Bharatiya Jana Sangh candidate. The party won surprisingly on nine seats and Shekhawat was one of them. Within no time he took over the command of the party.
Three times he led his party to victory in Rajasthan. First as Janata Daly chief in 1978, later as B.J.P. Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Ironically, despite resounding victories, the first two times he was unable to complete his terms. In 1980, Indira Gandhi dismissed his government and in 1992, he was again dismissed after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. In 2002, he became the 12th Vice-President of India.