(Gopi Chand Bhargava, first chief minister of Punjab)

Gopi Chand Bhargava (1889 - 1966) was the first Chief Minister of Punjab. He became the Chief Minister of Punjab thrice. 

Gopi Chand Bhargava was born on 8th March 1889 in Sarsa District, Punjab, India. He belonged to the Indian National Congress (INC) party. After India gained independence, Gopi Chand Bhargava became the first Chief Minister of Punjab on 15th August 1947. He was in office from 15th August to 13th April 1949. After 1 year and 241 days in office, Gopi Chand Bhargava was succeeded by Bhim Sen Sachar who became the second Chief Minister of Punjab from 13th April 1949 to 18th October 1949. After  188 days in office, Mr Sachar was succeeded by Gopi Chand Bhargava. Mr Bhargava took oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab for the second time on 18th October 1949 and was in office till 20th June 1951. After 1 year and 245 days in office, President’s rule was imposed in the state. Gopi Chand Bhargava again became the Chief Minister of Punjab for the third time. On the third occasion, he was in office for 15 days only. He held the office from 21st June 1964 to 6th July 1964. Gopi Chand Bhargava passed away at the age of 77 on 26th December 1966.

(Map of India showing the location of Punjab in red colour)

Punjab an Indian state lies to the northern part of the country. The Indian state of Punjab shares its borders with the states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the southeast, Rajasthan to the southwest and the Pakistan province of Punjab to the west. Punjab covers an area of 50,362 sq km (19445 sq mi). The capital of Punjab is Chandigarh which is a Union Territory and also the capital of Haryana. There are 22 districts in Punjab with Ludhiana being the largest city. Captain Amarinder Singh from Indian National Congress (INC) is the Chief Minister of the state. Punjab is a unicameral legislature with 117seats and 13 Parliamentary constituencies. V P Singh Badnore is the Governor of the state. The total population of the state as per the 2011 census is 27,704,236. Punjabi is being spoken by the inhabitants of the state.

(Map of Punjab)