The paradoxical politician

Mr Harivansh, who belongs to Sitabdiara village, close to Chandra Shekhar's Ibrahimpatti, is well qualified to write this biography for many reasons

From a nondescript village called Ibrahimpatti in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh to the highest seat of power in Delhi, Chandra Shekhar’s life was extraordinary by any standards. A legend in his lifetime, he embodied many contradictions: a loner who had many friends cutting across party and ideological lines and a socialist who had many capitalists as friends. It would not be wrong to describe him as the first rank outsider in Lutyens’ power clique.

The rise of Chandra Shekhar (1927-2007) was coterminous with the most turbulent phase of post-independent Indian politics. The biographical account of this unique leader penned