One of the stalwarts in the present Congress Party is Shivraj V Patil. His popularity in the Indian political system can be gauged from the fact that he had the rare distinction of being unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 10th Lok Sabha. He was born on October 12, 1935 at Chakur in Latur district of Maharashtra. After receiving his higher education in Law from Osmania University and Mumbai University, he became a Lecturer. But he left the job soon after. Then he was elected as the President of the Latur Municipality and remained connected to it till 1972.
In 1972, he entered the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Patil was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980 as a Congress Party member from Latur. Since then he has held various important positions in the central government till 1998. In 1991, Patil was unanimously elected to the post of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. During his tenure the first ever motion for the impeachment of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court was initiated in the Lok Sabha.