# Narasingha Mishra

Nrusingha Mishra (Odia: ନୃସିଂହ ମିଶ୍ର ; born 23 December 1940) is a politician from Odisha, India. He was the Leader of Opposition in the 15th Odisha Legislative Assembly.
He was the Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party from 2004-2009. He was first elected to the state legislature in 1990 and served as the Law Minister. He has represented Balangir constituency from the Indian National Congress party. In the 2019 Odisha Legislative Assembly election, has got 71,598 votes while his main opponent Arkesh Narayan Singh Deo from Biju Janata Dal got 66,257 votes.

## Background

Narasingha Mishra (Narsing Mishra/Narasingh Mishra) comes from the small village of Chhatamakhna near Balangir in Odisha. His father, Yudhisthir Mishra, was a lawyer and a member of the Constituent assembly of India. Born into a family where politics was a part and parcel of the daily life, he joined politics at the age of 18 and was enrolled as a member of the Communist Party of India and continued as such until 1993. During that period, he held many party positions and successfully led several agitations.
He has had a very successful practice as a lawyer. Except for the period when he was a minister he has remained in active practice. Notable amongst his achievements for public cause as a lawyer was, the Orissa High Court directive to state government for direct procurement of paddy from farmers.

## Political career

Although he joined the state legislature only in 1990, he was considered to be a power center in Balangir for a long time. He is said to be the mentor of many presents and former public representatives from the region and this probably makes him a potent force irrespective of the party he represents.
He was first elected to the Odisha Assembly from Loisingha under the Bolangir (Lok Sabha constituency) and joined the cabinet as the Minister of Law. One of his major contributions as a minister was the Special Courts Bill, with which Odisha aimed to fight corruption in high places.
After losing the 2000 elections he fought back from Luisinga in 2004 and is the Deputy Leader of Congress Legislature Party in Odisha assembly. He lost the Parliamentary elections from the Balangir Parliamentary Constituency in 2009. He is currently a part-time member of the Law Commission of India. He won the Bolangir Constituency with 61730 votes in Assembly Election 2014 from Balangir District of Odisha, by a margin of 12254 compared to his/her immediate rival Ananga Udaya Singhdeo of BJD. Earlier he was silent regarding the issues of separate Koshal state but since couple of years it is seen from his press conference that he is opining for a separate state if injustice is done to western part of Odisha.

## Professional

* Member Odisha state bar council from 1985 to 1990.
* Member 19th law commission, Govt. of India.
* Vice President of State unit of Indo-Soviet-Cultural Society.
* Vice President of State unit of International Peace Council.
* Chairman, Special Committee constituted by Odisha Legislative Assembly.
* Chairman, Special Committee to examine and suggest necessary amendment to the existing Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
* Member of Public Accounts Committee