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
The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...
and was also the head of the
Nath
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.[Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...]
. He took deeksha from
Mahant Shreyonath
Mahant Shreyonath (1904–1985) was the Health Minister of the Indian state of Haryana and sixth chief/ Mahant of the Nath sect of Hinduism. Shreyonath succeeded his guru Shri Purna Nath Ji on 28 February 1939. After 39 years he gave Deeksha in 1 ...
in 1978.
Personal life
Chandnath was the
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
Baba Mast Nath University
Baba Mastnath University, Rohtak, a private self – financing University, blossomed under the aegis of Shri Baba Mastnath Math, Asthal Bohar in 2012 under Haryana Private Universities Act 2006. BMU situated in Rohtak Campus on Delhi-Rohtak N ...
. He was also the chief of the
Nath
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.[Mahant Balaknath
Mahant Balaknath nee' Yadav is an Indian politician and current Member of Parliament from Alwar (Lok Sabha constituency), Alwar Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan. He is Chancellor (education), Chancellor of the Baba Mast Nath University (BMU) ...]
as his successor in a ceremony which was attended by
and
Baba Ramdev.
Political career
In the
2004 Indian Parliamentary election, Chandnath fought for the
Alwar seat on a
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
ticket. But he was defeated by
Karan Singh Yadav
Karan Singh Yadav (born 1 February 1945) is a former Indian politician who was a member of the 16th Lok Sabha. He represented Alwar constituency of Rajasthan, and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. He also serve ...
who belonged to the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
.
For the 2004
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
by election, Chandnath was given a ticket to contest the
Behror
Behror () is a city in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Behror Tehsil. Situated 120 km south-west of national capital, New Delhi, and part of the National Capital Region, it al ...
seat. For the election, the party state president
Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi and chief minister
Vasundhara Raje
Vasundhara Raje Scindia (born 8 March 1953) is an Indian politician, who has held two terms as the chief minister of Rajasthan. She was previously a minister in the Union Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and was India's first Minister of Micro, ...
held election rallies in his constituency. In the election, he emerged victorious by defeating a party rebel
Jaswant Singh Yadav
Dr. Jaswant Singh Yadav is an Indian politician. He was a Cabinet Minister for Skills Development, Labour and Employment, Factory and Boilers Inspection, ESI, ITI Minister in Rajasthan Government and a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembl ...
by a margin of 13 thousand votes.
In the
2014 Indian Parliamentary election, Chandnath declared assets worth 2 lakh rupees ($3100). In the election, his opponent was
Jitendra Singh Jitendra Singh may refer to:
* Jitendra Singh (politician, born 1956), Indian Bharatiya Janata Party politician
* Jitendra Singh (politician, born 1971), Indian National Congress politician
* Jitendra Singh (BSP) or Jitendra Kumar Bablu Bhaiya, B ...
of the Congress. He won the election and hence became a member of the parliament.
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
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
''
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...
'' Baba Ramdev asked him to refrain from speaking about the issue of black money before the media.
In February 2017, Chandnath was sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment by a court in
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
for criminal conspiracy after being found guilty in a case of land fraud.
Death
Chandnath died on 17 September 2017, aged 61 in a hospital in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
due to cancer. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
tweeted that he would be remembered for doing social work.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandnath, Mahant
1956 births
2017 deaths
People from Alwar district
Rajasthan MLAs 2003–2008
India MPs 2014–2019
Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Rajasthan
Indian politicians convicted of corruption