Mahant Chandnath

Mahant Chandnath (21 June 1956 – 17 September 2017) was an Indian politician and religious leader. He represented the Alwar Seat in the Parliament of India and was also the head of the Nath sect of Hinduism. He took deeksha from Mahant Shreyonath in 1978.[1]

Mahant Chandnath
Chandnath in Parliament in 2015
Member of the India Parliament
In office 1 September 2014 – 17 September 2017
Preceded by	Jitendra Singh
Succeeded by	Karan Singh Yadav
Constituency	Alwar
Personal details
Born	21 June 1956 Delhi, India
Died	17 September 2017 (aged 61) New Delhi, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	Rohtak, Haryana, India
Alma mater	Hindu College
Occupation	Religious Missionary

Personal life

Chandnath was the Chancellor of the Baba Mast Nath University. He was also the chief of the Nath sect of Hinduism.[2] On 29 July 2016, he declared Mahant Balaknath as his successor in a ceremony which was attended by Yogi Adityanath and Baba Ramdev.[3]

Political career

In the 2004 Indian Parliamentary election, Chandnath fought for the Alwar seat on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.[4] But he was defeated by Karan Singh Yadav who belonged to the Indian National Congress.[5]

For the 2004 Rajasthan by election, Chandnath was given a ticket to contest the Behror seat. For the election, the party state president Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi and chief minister Vasundhara Raje held election rallies in his constituency. In the election, he emerged victorious by defeating a party rebel Jaswant Singh Yadav by a margin of 13 thousand votes.[5]

In the 2014 Indian Parliamentary election, Chandnath declared assets worth 2 lakh rupees ($3100).[6] In the election, his opponent was Jitendra Singh of the Congress.[7] He won the election and hence became a member of the parliament.[8]

Controversies

During the 2004 election, there was a pending murder charge against Chandnath. During the 2014 Indian Lok Sabha election, a video became popular on the internet where allegedly yoga guru Baba Ramdev asked him to refrain from speaking about the issue of black money before the media.[9]

In February 2017, Chandnath was sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment by a court in Haryana for criminal conspiracy after being found guilty in a case of land fraud.[10]

Death

Chandnath died on 17 September 2017, aged 61 in a hospital in Delhi due to cancer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he would be remembered for doing social work.[11]

References

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/alwar-mp-chand-nath-yogi-passes-away-narendra-modi-birthday-celebrations-4847499/
2. "Cong expects tough contest in pampered constituency". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
3. "महंत चांदनाथ ने तय किया अपना उत्तराधिकारी, मौजूद रहे बाबा रामदेव". अमर उजाला. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
4. "ceorajasthan.nic.in".
5. "BJP, Congress make a dent in rival dens". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
6. "16th Lok Sabha to have 442 crorepatis, richest worth Rs 683 crore". Financial Express. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
7. "Two Union ministers among 18 candidates to file papers in Rajasthan". News18. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
8. "Rathore Biggest Winner, Azharuddin Loses Badly". India Journal. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
9. "After murder charge, black money cloud on Chandnath". Indian Express. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
10. "Alwar MP gets one-year rigorous imprisonment in land fraud case". Times of India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
11. "Rajasthan: BJP MP from Alwar Mahant Chandnath passes away". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 September 2017.