He was born 3 August 1898 in Lakshmanpur Village, Lalganj Tehsil of Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, to Gazadhar Prasad Upadhyay. He was an exceptionally bright student and learner.[citation needed] He matriculated from Somvanshi Higher Secondary School (PB Inter College), Pratapgarh and did his post-graduation at Kayastha Pathshala, Allahabad, and law education from Allahabad University. Soon he started working with the mayor's office in Allahabad. He married Annapoorna Upadhyay in 1933.[1]
He was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and was the only person from Pratapgarh who signed the draft of the Indian Constitution.[2] Post-independence, he became the first candidate from Pratapgarh to become a Member of Parliament twice, once in 1951 in the first Lok Sabha elections, then again in 1957 in the second Lok Sabha elections.[3][4]
After sweeping wins in the first two elections from the Pratapgarh constituency, he was defeated in the third Lok Sabha election by Jan Sangh candidate, Ajit Pratap Singh.[5]
He was secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Board and chairman of the Railway Reforms Committee. He also held the position of Revenue Minister in Uttar Pradesh Cabinet during C. B. Gupta's Chief Ministry for a short period between 1969 and 1970.[6]
Angela S. Burger. Opposition in a Dominant Party System: A study of the Jan Sangh, the Praja Socialist Party and the Socialist Party in Uttar Pradesh, India. University of California Press, 1969. ISBN052-001-4286
Sadhna Sharma. States Politics in India Mittal Publications, 1995. ISBN8170996198, 9788170996194
