Shimla: Last month Virbhadra Singh's family cut a cake to celebrate his 87th birthday at the family's ancestral home, Holly Lodge, but the veteran Congress leader could not be a part of the gathering as he was undergoing treatment for post-Covid complications at a hospital here.
Singh breathed his last at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) at 3.40 am on Thursday after prolonged illness. He had a heart attack on Monday. He was put on ventilator support on Wednesday after he had trouble breathing. Singh had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 11 for the second time in two months.
A six-time chief minister of the state, Singh held a special place in the hearts of the people of the state. He was known to take a stand contrary to that of his party on some occasions. Like in the case of the Ram Temple when he openly supported its construction at the same spot in Ayodhya where the Babri mosque stood.
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In April 2019, right before the last Lok Sabha elections, Singh spoke to media about this during an interview at his residence. "Land for Ram Temple can be given even in Himachal Pradesh, but it should be built on the same spot in Ayodhya," he had said.
Virbhadra Singh was born on June 23, 1934 in Sarahan to late Raja Sir Padam Singh of Bushahr state. He was educated at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and St. Stephen's College in Delhi.
Singh was just 28 when he became an MP for the first time. Twenty years later, he became the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in 1983 at the age of 48.
He held the office of the chief minister from April 1983 to March 1990, December 1993 to March 1998, March 2003 to December 2007 and then from December 2012 to December 2017.